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I 



HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES: 



Specimens of tjje (Bipsir ITiingUcige. 



By WALTEPw SIMSOISr. 



EDITED. WITD 



PREFACE, nrrifODUCTION, AND NOTES, AND A DISQUISITION ON THE 
PAST, PPwliSENT AND FUTUEE OF GIPSTDO.M. 



By JAMES SIMSO>J 

* Haat Ihoa not noted on th« by* wny-adU, 
Wli^ra ttijoJ iauijiu li-«n o'er die l.izy liiie, 
A va;^:iut er«w, far itm-^ifleii thruu>;li the ^laJc. 
With trii1e4 b«L>i«<J, or in Uuaiber IhI.I ; 
Th«Ir cliiUron lulling round th<fiii on th« t^raw. 
Or pettarias; vitli tliuir sporU tlio pittl«iit iu«> 
Th« wriiikW bvKlttiuti lhon» you iiuiy espy, 
Aud ri|)« young maiden willi Uie -^luuy eyo ; 
Nfeo in their prime, an<( sCripiSni^ ilark mikI Ion, 
Sciitho<1 by lhi» (tonn nnd fr«ckl«<l with th« oao ; 
Tbeir iWHfthy hue Ami niantla't (lowing fold, 
Be>p«a1c the reiuuant of » ritce of old. 
Straoi^ »n '.heir annul* — list ! and n)ark (h<;m vsU — 
For thou hAU macb to hear and I to t«ll."— IIooo. 



SECOND EDITIOS. 



NEW YORK: JAMES MILLER. 

^ LONDON: SAMPSON LOW, SON, AND MARSTON 

1878. 



n^:^ 



i^' 

,^^ 

;^i^ 



^^ 



Entered, according to Act of Consress, In the year IS68 

\ Bv JAMES SIMSUN, 

[ft the (llerk's Office of the District Court of the Cnited States for the Southern Dlatriot 
of New York. 

nm 

'W. L. Shoemaker 
I t '06 



EoWAno O. JCHKIM, 

tRIltTUR AND STEREOTYPBU^ 
No. 30 North WllKui St. 



i 



CONTENTS." 

>7 ^EDITOR'S PREFACE 5 

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION 27 



i 



INTRODUCTION 55 

I. CONTINENTAL GIPSIES 69 

II. ENGLISH GIPSIES 90 

m. SCOTTISH GIPSIES, DOWN TO THE YEAR 1715 98 -^ 

IV. LINLITHGOWSHIRE GIPSIES 123 

V^. FIFE AND STIRLINGSHIRE GIPSIES 140 

VL TWEED-DALE AND CLYDESDALE GIPSIES 185 

Vn. BORDER GIPSIES 236 

VIIL MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE CEREMONIES 267 / 

IX. LANGUAGE 281 

X. PRESENT CONDITION AND NUMBER OF THE GIPSIES 

IN SCOTLAND 341 

DISQUISITION ON THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF 

GIPSYDOM 871 

INDEX 543 

• The Contents of these Chapters will be found detailed in the kidei, forming mi 
epitome of the work, for reference, or studying the subject of the Gipsies. 



Ever since entering Great Britain, about the year 1506, tha 
Gipsies have been drawing into their body the blood of the ordin- 
ary inhabitants and conforming to their ways ; and so prolific has 
the race been, that there cannot be less than 250,000 Gipsies of all 
castes, colours, characters, occupations, degrees of education, cul- 
ture, and position in life, in the British Isles alone, and possibly 
double that number. There are many of the same race in the 
United States of America. Indeed, there have been Gipsies in 
America from nearly the first day o^ its settlement ; for many of 
the race were banished to the plantations, often for very trifling 
offences, and sometimes merely for being by *' habit and repute 
Egyptians." But as the Gipsy race leaves the tent, and rises to 
civilization, it hides its nationality from the rest of the world, so 
great is the prejudice against the name of Gipsy. In Europe and 
America together, there cannot be less than 4,000,000 Gipsies in 
existence, yohn Bunyan, the author of the celebrated Pilgrim'sl 
Progress, was one of this singular people, as will be conclusively' 
shown in the present work. The philosophy of the existence of 
the Jews, since the dispersion, will also be discussed and established 
in it. 

When the "wonderful story" of the Gipsies is told, as it ought 
to be told, it constitutes a work of interest to many classes of read- 
ers, being a subject unique, distinct from, and unknown to, the rest 
of the human family. In the present work, the race has been treated 
of so fully and elaborately, in all its aspects, as in a great meas- 
ure to fill and satisfy the mind, instead of" being, as heretofore, little 
better than a myth to the understanding of the most intelligent 
person. 

The history of the Gipsies, when thus comprehensively treated, 
forms a study for the most advanced and cultivated mind, as well 
as for the youth whose intellectual and literary character is still to 
be formed ; and furnishes, among other things, a system of science 
not too abstract in its nature, and having for its subject-matter the 
strongest of human feelings and sympathies. The work also seeks 
to raise the name of Gipsy out of the dust, where it now lies ; 
while it has a very important bearing on the conversion of the 
Jews, the advancement of Christianity generally, and the develop- 
ment of historical and moral science. 

London, October lotfi, 1865. 



EDITOE'S PREFACE. 



This work should have been introduced to the world 
Jong ere now. The proper time to have brought it forward 
would have been about twenty years ago * when the subject 
was nearly altogether new, and when popular feeling, in 
Scotland especially, ran strongly toward the body it treats 
of, owing to the celebrity of the writings of the great Scot- 
tish novelist, in whicli were depicted, with great truthfulness, 
some real characters of this wayward race. The induce- 
ments then to hazard a publication of it were great ; for by 
bringing it out at that time, the author would have enjoyed, 
in some measure, the sunslnne which the fame of that great 
luminary cast around all who, in any way, illustrated a sub- 
ject on which he had written. But for Sir Walter Scott's 
advice — an advice that can only be appreciated by those 
who are acquainted with the vindictive disposition whicli 
the Gipsies entertain toward those whom they imagine 
to have injured them — our author would have published a 
few magazine articles on the subject, when the tribe would 
have taken alarm, and an end would have been made to 
the investigation. The dread of personal danger, there is 
no doubt, formed a considerable reason for the work being 
so long withheld from the public : at the same time, our 
author, being a timid and nervous man, not a little dreaded 
the spleen of the party opposed to the literary society with 
which he identified himself, and tlie idea of being made tlie 
subject of one of the slashing criticisms so characteristic of 
the times. But now he has descended into the tomb, with 
most of Lis generation, where the abuse of a reviewer or 
the ire of a wandering Egyptian cannot reach iiim. 

Since this work was written there has appeared one by 

• It has been brought down, however, to the present time, 

(5) 



6 EDITORS PREFACE. 

Mr, Borrow, on the Gitanos or Spanish Gipsies. In the 
year 1838, a society was formed in Scotland, under the 
patronage of the Scottish Church, for the reformation of 
the wandering portion of the body in that country, with 
some eminent men as a committee of management, among 
whom was a reverend gentleman of learning, piety, and 
worth, who said that he himself was a Gipsy, and whose 
fine swarthy features strongly marked the stock from which 
he was descended. There are others in that country of a 
like origin, ornaments to the same profession, and many in 
other respectable walks of life, of whom I will speak in 
my Disquisition on the Gipsies, at the end of the work. 

Although a few years have elapsed since the principal 
details of this work were collected, the subject cannot be 
considered as old. The body in Scotland has become more 
numerous since the downfall of Napoleon ; but the improved 
system of internal order that has obtained since that period, 
has so very much suppressed their acts of depredation and 
violence toward the community, and their savage outbursts 
of passion toward those of their own race who had offended 
them, that much which would have met with only a slight 
punishment before, or in some instances been passed over, as 
a mere Gipsy scuffle, would now be visited with the utmost 
penalty the law could inflict. Hence the wild spirit, but not 
the number, of the body has been very much crushed. 
Many of them have betaken themselves to regular callings 
of industry, or otherwise withdrawn from public observa- 
tion ; but, in respect to race, are as much, at heart, Gipsies 
as before. Many of the Scottish wandering class have 
given way before an invasion of swarms of Gipsies from 
Ireland. 

It is almost unnecessary to give a reason why this work 
has been introduced here, instead of the country in which 
it was written, and of which, for the most part, it treats. 
Suffice it to say, that, having come to this country, I have 
been led to bring it out here, where it may receive, sooner 
or later, more attention from tliose at a distance from the 
place and people it treats of, than from those accustomed to 
see and hear of them daily, to many of whom they appear 
as mere vagabonds ; it being a common feature in the 
human mind, that that which comes frequently under our 
observation is but little thought of, while that at a distance, 



EDITOR'S PREFACE. 7 

and unknown to us, forms the subject of our investigations 
and desires.* In taking this view of the subject, the lan- 
guage of Dr. Bright may be used, when he says : " The 
condition and circumstances of the Gipsy nation throughout 
the whole of Europe, may truly be considered amongst the 
most curious phenomena in the history of man." And 
although this work, for the most part, treats of Scottish 
Gipsies, it illustrates the history of the people all over 
Europe, and, it may be said, pretty much over the world ; 
and affords materials for reflection on so singular a subject 
connected with the history of our common family, and so 
little known to mankind in general. To the American 
reader generally, the work will illustrate a phase of life and 
history with which it may be reasonably assumed he is not 
much conversant ; for, although he must have some know- 
ledge of the Gipsy race generally, there is no work, that I 
am aware of, that treats of the body like the present. To 
all kinds of readers the words of the celebrated Christopher 
North, as quoted in the author's Introduction, may be 
addressed : 

" Few things more sweetly vary civil life 
Than a barbarian, savage Tinklerf tale." 

It is a singular circumstance that, until comparatively 
lately, little was known of this body in Scotland, beyond 
their mere existence, and the depredations which they com- 
mitted on their neighbours ; no further proof of which need 

* " Men of letters, while eagerly investigating the customs of Otaheite 
or Kamschatka, and losing their tempers in endless disputes about Gothic 
and Celtic antiquities, have witnessed, with apathy and contempt, the 
striking spectacle of a Gipsy camp — pitched, perhaps, amidst the moulder- 
ing entrenchments of their favourite Picts and Romans. The rest of the 
community, familiar from infancy with the general character and appear- 
ance of these vagrant hordes, have probably never regarded them with 
any deeper interest than what springs from the recollected terrors of a 
nursery tale, or the finer associations of poetical and picturesque descrip- 
tion." — Blackwood's Magazine. 

\ Tinkler is the name generally applied to the Scottish Gipsies. The 
wandering, tented class prefer it to the term Gipsy. The settled and 
better classes detest the word : they would much rather be called Gipsies ; 
but the term Egyptian is the most agreeable to their feelings. Tinkler 
has a peculiar meaning that can be understood only by a Scotchman. In 
its radical sense it means Tinker. The verb tink, according to Jnmieson'a 
Scottish Dictionary, means to " rivet, including the idea of the noise made 
in the operation of riveting ; a Gipsy word.' 



8 EDITORS PREFACE. 

be given than a reference to the letters of Sir Waller 
Scott and others, in the Introduction to the work, and the 
avidity with which the few articles of our author in Black- 
wood's Magazine were read. 

The higher we may rise in the scale of general informa- 
tion and philosophic culture, the greater the attractions 
will this moral puzzle have for our contemplation — the phe- 
nomenon of a barbarous race of men, free as the air, with 
little but the cold earth for a bed, and the canopy of heaven 
for a covering, obtruding itself upon a civilized community, 
and living so long in the midst of it, without any material 
impression being made on the habits of the representative 
part of it ; the only instance of the kind in the modern 
history of the world. In this solitary case, having nothing 
from which to reason analogously as to the result, observa- 
tion alone must be had recourse to for the solution of the 
experiment. It is from this circumstance that the subject, 
in all its bearings, has been found to have such charms for 
the curious and learned ; being, as it were, a study in his- 
tory of the most interesting kind. It may be remarked 
that Professor Wilson, the Christopher North of Black- 
wood, is said to have accompanied some of the tribe in their 
peregrinations over parts of England and Wales. Without 
proceeding to the same length, our author, in his own 
peculiar way, prosecuted his researches with much indefatig- 
ability, assiduity, and patience. He kept an open house 
for them at all times, and presented such allurements as the 
skillful trapper of vermin will sometimes use in attracting 
the whole in a neighbourhood ; when if one Gipsy entered, 
many would follow ; although he would generally find them 
so shy in their communications as sometimes to require years 
of such baiting to ensure them for the elucidation of a 
single point of their history. In this way he made himself 
appear, in his associations with them, as very odd, and per- 
haps not of very sound mind, in the estimation of the wise 
ones around him. 

The popular idea of a Gipsy, at the present day, is very 
erroneous as to its extent and meaning. The nomadic 
Gipsies constitute but a portion of the race, and a very 
small portion of it. A gradual change lias come over their 
outward condition, all over Europe, from about the com- 
mencement of the first American war, but from what time 



EDITOR'S PREFACE. 9 

previous to that, we have no certain data from which to 
form an opinion. In the whole of Great Britain they have 
been very much mixed with the native blood of the country, 
but nowhere, I believe, so much so as in Scotland. There 
is every reason to suppose that the same mixture has taken 
place in Europe generally, although its effects are not so 
observable in the soutliern countries — from the circumstance 
of the people there being, for the most part, of dark hair 
and complexion — as in those lying further toward the north. 
But tliis circumstance would, to a certain extent, prevent the 
mixture which has taken place in countries the inhabitants 
of which have fair hair and complexions. The causes 
leading to this mixture are various. 

The persecutions to which the Gipsies were exposed, 
merely for being Gipsies, wliich their appearance would 
readily indicate, seem to have induced the body to inter- 
marry with our race, so as to disguise theirs. That would 
be done by receiving and adopting males of our race, 
whom they would marry to females of theirs, who would 
bring up the children of such unions as members of their 
fraternity. They also adopted the practice to give their 
race stamina, as well as numbers, to contend with the people 
among whom they lived. The desire of having servants, 
(for Gipsies, generally, have been too proud to do menial 
work for each other,) led to many children being kidnapped, 
and reared among them ; many of whom, as is customary 
with Oriental people, rose to as high a position in the tribe 
as any of themselves.* 

Then again, it was very necessary to have people of fair 
complexion among them, to enable them the more easily to 
carry on their opei-ations upon the community, as well as to 
contribute to their support during times of persecution. Ow- 

* Mr. Borrow labours under a very serious mistake when he asserts that 
" The unfounded idea, that Gipsies steal children, to bring them up as 
Gipsies, has been the besetting sin of autliors, who have attempted to 
found works of fiction on the way of life of this most singular people." The 
only argument which he advances to refute this belief in regard to Gipsies, 
which is universal, is the following: '"They have plenty of children of 
their own, whom they can scarcely support; and they would Pinile at the 
idea of encumbering themselves with the children of others." This is 
rather inconsistent with his own words, when he says, " I have dealt more 
in facts than in theories, of which I am, in general, no friend." As a raattej 
of fact, children have been stolen and ))rought up as Gii)sies, and j[.coi 
porated with the tribe. 



10 EDITOICS PREFACE. 

ing to these causes, and the occasional occurrence of white 
people being, by more legitimate means, received into tlieir 
body, which would be more often the case in their palmy days, 
the half, at least, of the Scottish Gipsies are of fair hair and 
blue eyes. Some would natui'ally think that these would 
not be Gipsies, lout the fact is otherwise ; for, owing to the 
dreadful prejudice which has always attached to the name 
of Gipsy, these fair and dark coloured Gipsies, imagining 
themselves, as it were, banished from society, on account of 
their descent, cling to their Gipsy connection ; as the other 
part of their blood, they imagine, will not own them. They 
are Gipsies, and, with the pjiblic, they tliink that is quite 
enough. They take a pride in being descended from a race 
so mysterious, so ancient, so universal, and cherish their 
language the more from its being the principal badge of 
membership that entitles them to belong to it. The nearer 
they approach the wliites as regards blood, the more acutely 
do tliey feel the antipathy which is entertained for their race, 
and the more bitter does the propinquity become to them. Tlie 
more enlightened they become, the stronger becomes their 
attachment to the sept in the abstract, although they will 
despise many of its members. The sense of such an ancient 
descent, and the possession of such an ancient and secret 
language, in the minds of men of comparatively limited 
education and indifferent rearing, brought up in humble 
life, and following various callings, from a tinker upward, 
and even of men of education and intelligence, occupying 
the positions of lawyers, medical doctors, and clergymen, 
possess for them a charm that is at once fascinating and 
enchanting. If men of enlightened minds and high social 
standing will go to such lengths as they have done, in their 
endeavours to but look into their language, liow much more 
will they not cling to it, such as it is, in whose hearts it 
is ? Gipsies compounded for the most part of white blood, 
but with Gipsy feelings, are, as a general thing, much 
superior to those who more nearly approach what may 
be called the original stock ; and, singularly enough, speak 
the language better than the others, if their opport-unities 
have been in any way favourable for its acquisition. 

The primitive, original state of the Gipsies is the tent and 
tilted cart. But as any country can support only a limited 
number in that way, and as the increase of the body is very 



EDITORS PREFA GE. 11 

large, it follows that tliey must cast about to make a 
living in some other way, however bitter the pill may be 
■which they have to swallow. The nomadic Gipsy portion 
resembles, in that respect, a water trough ; for the water 
whicli runs into it, there must be a corresponding quantity 
running over it. The Gipsies who leave the tent resemble 
the youth of our small seaports and villages ; for there, 
society is so limited as to compel such youth to take to the 
sea or towns, or go abroad, to gain that livelihood which the 
neighbourhood in which they have been reared denies to 
them. In the same manner do these Gipsies look back to 
the tent from which they, or their fathers, have sprung. 
They carry the language, the associations, and the sympa- 
thies of their race, and their peculiar feelings toward the 
community, with them ; and, as residents of towns, have 
generally greater facilities, from others of their race residing 
near them, for perpetuating their language, than when stroll- 
ing over the country. 

The prejudice of their fellow creatures, which clings to 
the race to which they belong, almost overwhelms some of 
them at times ; but it is only momentary ; for such is the 
independence and elasticity of their nature, that they rise 
from under it, as self-complacent and proud as ever. They 
in such cases resort to the tu quoque — the tit for tat argu- 
ment as regards their enemies, and ask, " What is this white 
race, after all ? What were their forefathers a few genera- 
tions ago ? tlie Highlands a nest of marauding thieves, and 
the Borders little better. Or society at the present day — 
what is it but a compound of deceit and hypocrisy? Peo- 
ple say that the Gipsies steal. True ; some of them steal 
chickens, vegetables, and such things ; but what is that com- 
pared to the robbery of widows and orphans, the lying and 
cheating of traders, the swindling, the robberies, the mur- 
ders, the ignorance, the squalor, and the debaucheries of so 
many of the wliite race ? What are all these compared to 
the simple vices of the Gipsies? What is the ancestry 
tliey boast of, compared, in point of antiquity, to ours? 
People may despise the Gipsies, but they certainly despise 
all others not of their own race : the veriest beggar Gipsy, 
witliout shoes to his feet, considers himself better than the 
queen that sits upon the throne. People say that Gipsies 
are blackguards. Well, if some of them are blackguards, 



1 2 EDITOR'S PEEFA CE. 

they are at least illustrious blackguards as regards descent, 
and so in fact ; for they never rob each ether, and far less 
do they rob or ruin those of their own family." And they 
conclude that the odium which clings to the race is but a 
prejudice. Still, they will deny that they are Gipsies, and 
will rather almost perish than let any one, not of their own 
race, know that they speak their language in their own 
households and among their own kindred. They will even 
deny or at least hide it from many of their own race. 

For all these reasons, the most appropriate word to apply 
to modern Gipsyism, and especially British Gipsyism, and 
more especially Scottish Gipsyism, is to call it a caste, and a 
kind of masonic society, rather than any particular mode 
of life. And it is necessary that this distinction should bo 
kept in mind, otherwise the subject will appear contra- 
dictory. 

The most of these Gipsies are unknown to the public as 
Gipsies. The feeling in question is, for the most part, on 
the side of the Gipsies themselves ; they think that more 
of them is known than actually is. In that respect a kind 
of nightmare continually clings to them ; while their pecu- 
liarly distant, clannish, and odd habits create a kind of 
separation between them and the other inhabitants, which 
the Gipsy is naturally apt to construe as proceeding from a 
different cause. Frequently, all that is said about them 
amounts only to a whisper among some of the families in 
the community in which they live, and whicli is confiden- 
tially passed around among themselves, from a dread of 
personal consequences. Sometimes tlie native families say 
among themselves, " Why should we make allusion to their 
kith and kin ? They seem decent people, and attend 
church like ourselves ; and it would be cruel to cast up 
their descent to them, and damage them in the estimation 
of the world. Their cousins, (or second cousins, as it may 
be,) travel the country in the old Tinkler fashion, no doubt ; 
but what has that to do with them ?" The estimate of such 
peo]:)le never, or hardly ever, goes beyond the simple idea 
of their being " descended from Tinklers ;" few have the 
most distant idea that they are Gipsies, and speak the 
Gipsy language among themselves. It is certain that a 
Gipsy can be a good man, as the world goes, nay, a very 
good man, and glory in being a GipvSy, but not to the public. 



EDITORS PREFACE. 13 

He will adhere to his ancient language, and talk it in his 
own family ; and he has as much risj^ht to do so, as, for ex- 
ample, a Highlander has to speak Gaelic in the Lowlands, 
or when he goes abroad, and teach it to his chiklren. And 
he takes a greater pride in doing it, for thus lie reasons : 
" What is English, French, Gaelic, or any other living lan- 
guage, compared to mine ? Mine will carry me through 
every part of the known world : wherever a man is to be 
found, there is my language spoken. I will find a brother 
in every part of the world on which I may set my foot ; I 
will be welcomed and passed along wherever I may go. 
Freemasonry indeed ! what is Masonry compared to the 
brotherhood of the Gipsies? A language — a whole lan- 
guage — is its pass- word. I almost worship the idea of 
being a member of a society into which I am initiated by 
my blood and language. I would not be a man if I did not 
love my kindred, and cherish in my heart that peculiarity 
of my race (its language) which casts a halo of glory 
around it, and makes it the wonder of the world !" 

The feeling alluded to induces some of these Gipsies to 
change their residences or go abroad. I heard of one 
family in Canada, of wliom a Scotchman spoke somewhat in 
the following way : " I know them to be Gipsies. They 
remind me of a brood of wild turkeys, hatched under a tame 
bird ; it will take the second or tliird descent to bring 
them to resemble, in some of their ways, the ordinary barn- 
door fowl. They are very restless and queer creatures, and 
move about as if they were afraid that every one wivs going 
to tramp on their corns." But it is in large towns they feel 
more at home. Tliey then form little communities among 
themselves ; and by closely associating, and sometimes 
huddling together, they can more easily perpetuate their 
language, as I have already said, than by straggling, twos 
or threes, through the country. But their quarrelsome dis- 
position frequently throws an obstacle in the way of such 
associations. Secret as they have been in keeping their 
language from even being heard by the public while wan- 
derers, they are much more so since they have settled in 
towns. 

The origin of the Gipsies has given rise, in recent times, 
to many speculations. The most plausible one, liowever, 
seems to be that they are from Hindostan ; an opinion our 



U EDITORS PREFACE. 

author supports so well, that we are almost bound to acqui- 
esce in it. In these controversies regarding the origin of 
the Gipsies, very little regard seems to have been had to 
what they say of themselves. It is curious that in every 
part of Europe they have been called, and are now called, 
Egyptians. No trace can now be found of any enquiry made 
as to their origin, if such there was made, when they first 
appeared in Europe. They seem then to have been taken 
at their word, and to have passed current as Egyptians. 
But in modern times their country has been denied them, 
owing to a total dissimilarity betw^een their language and 
any of the dialects of modern Egypt. A very intelligent 
Gipsy informed me that his race sprung from a body of 
men — a cross between the Arabs and Egyptians — that left 
Egypt in the train of the Jews.* In consulting the record 
of Moses, I find it said, in Ex. xii. 38, " and a mixed multi- 
tude went up also with them" (the Jews, out of Egypt). 
Yery little is said of this mixed multitude. In Lev. xxiv. 
10, mention is made of the son of an Israelitish woman, by 
an Egyptian, being stoned to death for blasphemy, which 
would almost imply that a marriage had taken place pre- 
vious to leaving Egypt. After tliis occurrence, it is said in 
Num. xi. 4, " and tlie mixed multitude that was among 
them fell a lusting" for flesh. That would imply that they 
had not amalgamated with the Jews, but were only among 
them. The Scriptures say nothing of what became of this 
mixed multitude after the Jews separated from them (Neh. 
xiii. 3), and leave us only to form a conjecture relative to 
their destiny. 

We naturally ask, what could have induced this mixed 
multitude to leave Egypt ? and tlie natural reply is, that 
their motive was the same that led to the exodus of the 
Jews — a desire to escape from slavery. No commentator 
that I have read gives a plausible reason for the mixed 
multitude leaving Egypt with the Jews. Scott, be- 
sides venturing four suppositions, advances a fifth, that 
" some left because they were distressed or discontented." 
But that seems to fall infinitely short of the true reason. 
Adam Clark says, '' Probably they were refugees who came 
to sojourn in Egypt, because of the dearth which had obliged 

* The intelligent reader will not differ with me as to the weight to be at- 
tached to the Gipsy's remark on this point. 



EDITOR'S PREFACE. 15 

them to emigrate from their own countries." But that 
dearth occurred centuries before the time of the exodus ; so 
that those refugees, if such there were, who settled in Egypt 
during the famine, could have returned to their own coun- 
tries generations before the time of that event. Scott 
says, " It is probable some left Egypt because it was deso- 
late ;" and Henry, " Because their country was laid waste 
by the plagues." But the desolation was only partial ; for 
we are told that " He that feared the word of the Lord 
among the servants of Pharaoh, made his servants and his 
cattle flee into the houses ;" by which means they escaped 
destruction from the hail, which affected only those remain- 
ing in the field. We are likewise told that, although the 
barley and flax were smitten by the same hail-storm, the 
wheat and rye, not being grown up, were left untouched. 
These two latter (besides fish, roots and vegetables) would 
form the staples of tlie food of the Egyptians ; to say nothing 
of the immense quantities in the granaries of the country. 
If the Egyptians could not find bread in tlieir own country, 
how were they to obtain it by accompanying the Jews into 
a land of which they knew nothing, and which had to be 
conquered before it could be possessed ? Where were they 
to procure bread to support them on the journey, if it was 
not to be had at home ? 

The other reasons given by these commentators for the 
departure of the mixed multitude from Egypt are hardly 
worth controverting, when we consider the social manners 
and religious belief of the Egyptians. We are told that, 
for being shepherds, the Israelites were an abomination 
unto the Egyptians (Gren. xlvi. 34) ; and that the Egyptians 
considered it an abomination to eat bread with a Hebrew, 
(Gen. xliii. 32,) so supreme was the reign of caste and of 
nationality at that period in Egypt. Tlie sacrifices of the 
Jews were also an abomination to the Egyptians (Ex. viii. 
26). The Hebrews were likewise influenced by feelings 
peculiar to themselves, which would render any alliances 
or even associations between them a|]d thpjr oppressors 
extremely improbable ; but if suph there should have bepn, 
the issue would be incorporq-ted with the Hebrews. 

There could thi^s be no personal motive for any of tho 
Egyptians to accompany the Hebrews ; and as little could 
there bo of that whiph pertains to the religious j for, as ^ 



16 EDITOR'S PREFACE. 

people, they had become so " vain in their imaginations," 
and had " their foolish -hearts so darkened," as to worship 
almost every created thing — bulls, birds, serpents, leeks, 
onions and garlic. Such a people were almost as well nigh 
devoid of a motive springing from a sense of elevated reli- 
gion, as were the beasts, the reptiles and the vegetables 
which they worshipped. A miracle performed before the 
eyes of such a people would have no more salutary or last- 
ing influence than would a flash of lightning before tlie 
eyes of many a man in every day life ; it might prostrate 
them for a moment, but its effects would be as transitory. 
Like the Jews themselves, at a subsequent time, they might 
credit the miracle to Beelzebub, the prince of devils ; and, 
like the Gergesenes, rise up in a body and beseech Moses 
and his people to " depart out of their coasts." Indeed, 
after the slaying of* the first-born of the Egyptians, we are 
told that " the Egyptians were urgent upon the people that 
they might send them out of the land in haste ; for, they 
said. We be all dead men." Considering how hard a mat- 
ter it was for Moses to urge the Jews to undertake the 
exodus ; considering their stiff-necked and perverse grumb- 
ling at all that befell tliem ; notwithstanding that to them 
" pertained the fathers, the adoption, the glory and the 
covenant :" the commands and the bones of Joseph ; tlie 
grievous bondage they were enduring, and tlie almost daily 
recourse to which Moses had for a miracle to strengthen 
their faith and resolution to proceed ; and we will perceive 
the impossibility of the " mixed multitude" leaving Egypt 
on any ground of religion. 

This principle might even be urged further. If we con- 
sider the reception which was given to the miracles of 
Christ as " a son over his own house, and therefore worthy 
of more glory than Moses, who was but a servant," we will 
conclude that the miracles wrought by Moses, although per- 
sonally felt by the Egyptians, would have as little lasting 
effect upon them as had those of the former upon the 
Jews thpmselves ; they would naturally lead to the Hebrews 
being allowed to depart, but would serve no purpose of in- 
ducing the Egyptians to go with them. For if a veil was 
mysteriously drawn over the eyes of the Jews at the advent 
of Christ, which, in a negative sense, hid the Messiah from 
them (Mark iv. U, 12 ; Matt. xi. 25, 26 ; and John xii. 39, 



EDITOR'S PREFACE. 17 

40), liow much more might it not be said, " He hath blinded 
their eyes, and hardened their hearts, that they should not 
see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts," and 
let the people of Israel go, " till they would thrust them out 
hence altogether ;" and particularly so when the object of 
Moses' mission was to redeem the Israelites from the bond- 
age of Egypt, and spoil and smite the Egyptians. 

The only reasonable conclusion to which we can come, as 
regards a motive for the " mixed multitude" leaving Egypt 
along with the Jews, is, that being slaves like themselves, 
they took advantage of the opportunity, and slipped out with 
them.* 

The Jews, on being reduced to a state of bondage, were 
employed by Pharaoh to " build treasure cities, and work 
in mortar and brick, and do all manner of service in the 
field," besides being " scattered abroad through all the land 
of Egypt, to gather stubble in place of straw," wherewith to 
make their tale of bricks. In this way they would come 
much in contact with the other slaves of the country ; and, 
as " adversity makes strange bed-fellows," they would natu- 
rally prove communicative to their fellow-sufferers, and 
expatiate on the history of their people, from the days of 
Abraham downward, were it only from a feeling of vanity 
to make themselves appear superior to what they would con- 
sider the ordinary dross around them. They would also 
naturally allude to their future prospects, and the positive 
promise, or at least general idea, which they had of their 
God effecting their deliverance, and leading them into a 
country (Gen. 1. 24, 25) where all the miseries they were 
then enduring would be forgotten. They would do that 
more especially after Moses had returned from his father-in- 
law in Midian, to bring them out of Egypt ; for we are told, 
in Ex. iv. 29-31, that the elders of the children of Israel 
were called together and informed of the intended redemp- 
tion, and that all the people believed. By such means as 
these w^ould the minds of some of the other slaves of Egypt 
be inflamed at the very idea of freedom being perhaps in 
immediate prospect for so many of their fellow-bondsmen. 

* Since the above was written, I have read Hengstenberg on the Penta- 
teuch, who supposes that the " mixed multitude" were an inferior order of 
workmen, employed, like the Jews, as slaves, iu the building of the pyra- 
mids. 



1 8 EDITOR'S TREFA CE. 

Thereafter happened the many plagues ; the caii?es of 
which must have been more or less known to the Eg}7jtian3 
generally, from the public manner in which Moses would 
make his demands (Ex. x. 7) ; and consequently to their 
slaves ; for many of the slaves would be men of intelligence, 
as is common in oriental countries. Some of these slaves 
would, in all probability, watch, with fear and trembling, the 
dreadful drama played out (Ex. ix. 20). Others would per- 
haps give little heed to the various sayings of the Hebrews 
at the time they were uttered ; the plagues would, perhaps, 
have little effect in reminding them of them. As they ex- 
perienced their effects, they might even feel exasperated to- 
ward the Hebrews for being the cause of them ; still it is 
more probable that they sympathized with them, as fellow- 
bondsmen, and murmured against Pharaoh for their exist- 
ence and greater manifestation. But the positive order, nay 
the entreaty, for the departure of the Israelites, and the 
passage before their eyes of so large a body of slaves to ob- 
tain their freedom, would induce many of them to follow 
them ; for they would, in all likelihood, form no higher 
estimate of the movement than that of merely gaining that 
liberty which slaves, in all nations, and under all circum- 
stances, do continually sigh after. 

The character of Moses alone was a sufficient guarantee 
to the slaves of Egypt that they might trust themselves to 
his leadership and protection (not to speak of the miraculous 
powers which he displayed in his mission) ; for we are told 
that, besides being the adopted son of Pharaoh's daughter, 
he was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and 
mighty in word and deed. Having been, according to Jo- 
sephus, a great commander in the armies of Egypt, he must 
have been the means of reducing to bondage many of the 
slaves, or the parents of the slaves, then living in Egypt. At 
the time of the exodus we are told that he was " very great 
in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants, and 
in the sight of the people" (Ex. xi. 3). The burying of the 
" first-born" was not a circumstance likely to prevent a slave 
gaining his freedom amid the dismay, the moaning, and 
groaning, and howling throughout the land of Egypt. The 
circumstance was even the more favourable for his escape, 
owing to the Hebrews being allowed to go, till it pleased 
God again to harden and stir up Pharaoh to pursue them 



EDITORS PREFACE. 19 

(Ex. xiv. 2-5 and 8), in order that his host might lie over- 
thrown in the Red Sea. 

The Jews, while in Egypt, seem to have been reduced to 
a state of serfdom only — crown slaves, not chattels personal ; 
which would give them a certain degree of respect in the 
eyes of the ordinary slaves of the country, and lead them, 
owing to the dignity of their descent, to look down with 
disdain upon the " mixed multitude" which followed them. 
While it is said that they were " scattered over the land of 
Egypt," we are told, in Ex. ix. 4, that the murrain touched 
not the cattle of Israel ; and in the 26th verse, that " in the 
land of Goshen, where the people of Israel were, there was 
no hail." And Moses said to Pharaoh, "Our cattle also shall 
go with us ; there shall not an hoof be left behind ; for 
thereof we must take to serve the Lord our God" (Ex. x. 26). 
From this we would naturally conclude, that such of the 
Jews only as were capable of work, were scattered over the 
land of Egypt to do the work of Pharaoh, while the rest 
were left in the land of Goshen. By both the Egyptians 
and their slaves, the Hebrews would be looked upon as a 
mysterious people, which the former would be glad to send 
out of the land, owing to the many plagues which they had 
been the cause of being sent upon them ; and while they got 
quit of them, as they did, there would be no earthly motive 
for the Egyptians to follow them, through a wilderness, into 
a country of which the Hebrews themselves knew nothing. 
But it would be different with their slaves ; they had every- 
thing to hope from a change of condition, and would readily 
avail themselves of the chance to effect it. 

The very term " mixed multitude" implies slaves ; for the 
Hebrew word hasaphsuph, as translated by Bochartus, means 
jpopuli colluvies undecunque collecta — " the dregs or scum of 
the people gathered together from all parts." But this in- 
terpretation is most likely the literal meaning of a figurative 
expression, which was intended to describe a body of men 
such as the slaves of Egypt must have been, that is, a mix- 
ture that was compounded of men from almost every part of 
the world known to the Egyptians ; the two principal in- 
gredients of which must have been what may be called the 
Egyptian and Semitic. Moses seems to have used the word in 
question in consequence of the vexation and snare which the 
mixed multitude proved to him, by bringing upon the camp 



20 EDITORS PltEFACE. 

of his people the plague, inflicted, in consequence of their 
sins, in the midst of them. At the same time the Hebrews 
were very apt to term " dregs and scum" all who did not 
proceed from the loins of their father, Abraham. But I am 
inclined to believe that the bulk or nucleus of the mixed 
multitude would consist of slaves who were located in Go- 
shen, or its neighbourhood, when the Jews were settled 
there by Pharaoh. These would be a mixture of tlic shep- 
herd kings and native Egyptians, held by the former as 
slaves, who would naturally fall into the hands of the Egyp- 
tian monarch during his gradual reconquest of the country ; 
and they would be held by the pure Egyptians in as little 
esteem as the Jews themselves, both being, in a measure, of 
the shepherd race. In this way it may be claimed that the 
Gipsies are even descendants of the shepherd kings. 

After leaving Egypt, the Hebrews and the " mixed multi- 
tude," in their exuberance of feeling at having gained their 
freedom, and witnessed the overthrow of their common op- 
pressor in the Red Sea, would naturally have everything in 
common, till they regained their powers of reflection, and 
began to think of their destiny, and the means of supporting 
so many individuals, in a country in which provisions could 
hardly be collected for the company of an ordinary caravan. 
Then their difficulties would begin. It was enough for 
Moses to have to guide the Hebrews, whose were the prom- 
ises, without being burdened and harassed by those who fol- 
lowed them. Then w^e may reasonably assume that the 
mixed multitude began to clamour for flesh, and lead the 
Hebrews to join with them ; in return for which a plague 
was sent upon the people. They were unlikely to submit to 
be led by the hand of God, and be fed on angels' food, and, 
like the Hebrews, leave their carcasses in the wilderness ; 
for their religious sentiments, if, as slaves of Egypt, they 
had religious sentiments, would be very low indeed, and 
would lead them to depend upon themselves, and leave the 
deserts of Arabia, for some other country more likely to 
support them and their children. Undoubtedly the two 
people then separated, as Abraham and Lot parted when 
they came out of Egypt. 

How to shake oif this mixed multitude must have caused 
Moses many an anxious thought. Possibly his father-in-law, 
Jethro, from the knowledge and sagacity which he displayed 



EDITORS PREFACE. 21 

in forming tlie government of Moses himself, may have 
assisted him in arriving at the conclusion which he must 
have so devoutly wished. To take them into the promised 
land with him was impossible ; for the command of God, 
given in regard to Ishmael, the son of Abraham, by Hagar 
the Egyptian, and which was far more applicable to the 
mixed multitude, must have rung in his ears : " Cast out 
this bondwoman and her son, for the son of this bondwoman 
shall not be heir with my son, Isaac ;" " for in Isaac shall 
thy seed be called. '^ As slaves of Egypt they would not 
return to that country ; they would not go north, for that 
was the heritage of the people of Israel, which had to be 
wrested from the fierce tribes of Palestine ; they would not 
go north-east, for there lay the powerful empire of Assyria, 
or the germs out of which it sprung ; they could not go 
south, for the ocean hemmed them in, in that direction ; and 
their only alternative was to proceed east, through Arabia 
Petrea, along the gulf of Persia, through the Persian 
desert, into northern Hindostan, where they formed the 
Gipsy caste, and whence they issued, after the lapse of so 
many centuries, in possession of the language of Hindostan, 
and spread themselves over the earth. What a strange 
sensation passes through the mind, when such a subject is 
contemplated ! Jews and Gipsies having, in a sense, the 
same origin, and, after such vicissitudes, meeting each 
other, face to face, under circumstances so greatly alike, in 
almost every part of the world, upward of 3000 years after 
they parted company. What destiny awaited the Jews 
themselves on escaping from Egypt ? They had either to 
subdue and take the place of some other tribe, or be reduced 
to a state of slavery by it and perhaps others combined ; or 
they might possibly have been befriended by some great 
empire as tributaries ; or failing tliese three, what remained 
for them was the destiny that befell the Gipsies. 

On leaving Egypt, the Gipsies would possess a common 
language, whicli would hold them together as a body ; as 
slaves under the society of an Egyptian monarchy, they 
would have few, if any, opinions of a religious nature ; and 
they would have but little idea of the laws of meum and 
tuum. The position in which they would find themselves 
placed, and the circumstances surrounding them, would 
necessitate them to rob, steal, or appropriate whatever they 



22 EDITOR'S PREFA CE. 

found to be necessary to their existence ; for whether they 
turned to the ri^ht hand or to the left, they would always 
find territory previously occupied, and property claimed by 
some one ; so that their presence would always be unwel- 
come, their persons an intrusion everywhere ; and having 
once started on their weary pilgrimage, as long as they 
maintained their personal independence, they would never 
attain, as a body, to any other position than they have done, 
in popular estimation, for the last four hundred and fifty 
years in Europe. 

In entering Hindostan they would meet with a civilized 
people, governed by rigid caste, where they would have no 
alternative but to remain aloof from the other inhabitants. 
Then, as' now, that country had many wandering tribes 
within its borders, and for which it is peculiarly favourable. 
Whatever might have been the amount of civilization which 
some of the Gipsies brought with them from Egypt, it could 
not be otherwise than of that quasi nature which generally 
characterizes that of slaves, and which would rapidly degen- 
erate into a kind of barbarism, under the change of circum- 
stances in which they found themselves placed. As run- 
away slaves, they would naturally be shy and suspicious, and 
be very apt to betake themselves to mountains, forests and 
swamps, and hold as little intercourse with the people of 
the country in which they were, as possible. Still, having 
been reared within a settled and civilized state, they would 
naturally hang around some other one, and nestle within it, 
if the face of the country, and the character and ways of 
the people, admitted of it. Having been bondsmen, they 
would naturally become lazy after gaining their freedom, 
and revel in the wild liberty of nature. They would do 
almost anything for a living rather than work ; and what- 
ever they could lay their hands on would be fairly come by, 
in their imagination. But to carry out this mode of life, 
they would naturally have recourse to some ostensible em- 
ployment, to enable them to travel through the country, and 
secure the toleration of its inhabitants. Here their Egyp- 
tian origin would come to their assistance ; for as slaves of 
that country, they must have had many among them who 
would be familiar with horses, and working in metals, for 
which ancient Egypt was famous ; not to speak of some of 
the occult sciences which they would carry with them from 



EDITOR'S PREFACE, 23 

that country. In the first generation their new habits and 
modes of life would become chronic ; in the second genera- 
tion they would become hereditary ; and from this strange 
phenomenon would spring a race that is unique in the history 
of the human family. What origin could be more worthy 
of the Gipsies ? What origin more philosophical ? 

Arriving in India a foreign caste, the Gipsies would 
naturally cling to their common origin, and speak their com- 
mon language, which, in course of ages, would be forgotten, 
except occasional words, which would be used by them as 
catch-words. At the present day my Gipsy acquaintances 
inform me that, in Great Britain, five out of every ten of 
their words are nothing but common Hindostanee. How 
strange would it be if some of the other words of their 
language were those used by the people of Egypt under the 
Pharaohs. Mr. Borrow says : " Is it not surprising that the 
language of Petulengro, (an English Gipsy,) is continually 
coming to my assistance whenever I appear to be at a loss 
with respect to the derivation of crabbed words. I have 
made out crabbed words in JEschylus by means of his 
speech ; and even in my Biblical researches I have derived 
no slight assistance from it." " Broken, corrupted and half 
in ruins as it is, it was not long before I found that it was 
an original speech, far more so, indeed, than one or two 
others of high name and celebrity, which, up to that time, 
I had been in the habit of regarding with respect and venera- 
tion. Indeed, many obscure points connected with the 
vocabulary of these languages, and to which neither classic 
nor modern lore afforded any clue, I thought I could now 
clear up by means of this strange, broken tongue, spoken 
by people who dwell among thickets and furze bushes, in 
tents as tawny as their faces, and whom the generality of 
mankind designate, and with much semblance of justice, as 
thieves and vagabonds." 

A difficulty somewhat similar to the origin of the Gipsies 
has been started in reference to their language ; whether it 
is a speech distinct from any other surrounding it, or a few 
slang words or expressions connected together by the usual 
languages of the countries in which the race is to be found. 
The slightest consideration will remove the doubt, and lead 
us to the former conclusion. It is true there must needs be 
Bome native words mixed up with it j for what language, in 



24 EDITOR'S PItEFA CE. 

ancient or modern times, has come down free of a mixture 
with others ? If that be the case with languages classified, 
written, and spoken in a community, with no disturbing ele- 
ment near it to corrupt it, is it to be expected that tlie 
speech of a people like the Gipsies can be free of similar 
additions or substitutions, when it possesses none of these 
advantages for the preservation of its entirety and purity ? 
From the length of time the people have been in Europe, 
and the frequency of intercourse which they have been 
forced by circumstances, in modern times especially, to have 
with its natives, it would appear beyond measure surprising 
that even a word of their language is spoken at all. And 
this fact adds great weight to Sir Walter Scott's remark, 
when he says that " their language is a great mystery ;^ and 
to that of Dr. Bright, when he speaks of its existence as 
being " little short of the miraculous." But when we con- 
sider, on strictly philosophical principles, the phenomenon of 
the perpetuation of the Gipsy language, we will find that 
there is nothing so very wonderful about it after all. The 
race have always associated closely and exclusively together ; 
and their language has become to them like the worship of 
a household god — hereditary, and is spoken among them- 
selves under the severest of discipline. It is certain that it 
is spoken at the present day, by some of the race, nearly as 
well as the Gaelic of many of the immediate descendants 
of the emigrants in some of the small Highland settlements 
in America, when it has not been learned by book, even to 
the extent of conversing on any subject of ordinary life, 
without apparently using English words. But, as is common 
with people possessing two languages, the Gipsies often use 
them interchangeably in expressing the smallest idea. Be- 
sides the way mentioned by which the Gipsy language has 
been corrupted, there is another one peculiar to all speeches, 
and which is, that few tongues are so copious as not to stand 
in need of foreign words, either to give names to things or 
wants unknown in the place where the language originated, 
or greater meaning or elucidation to a thing than it is capa- 
ble of ; and preeminently so in the case of a barbarous 
people, with few ideas beyond the commonest wants of daily 
life, entering states so far advanced toward that point of 
civilization which they have now reached. But tlie quer>tion 
as to the extent of the Gipsy language never can be con- 



EDITOR'S PREFACE. 25 

clusively settled, until some able philologist has the unre- 
stricted opportunity of daily intercourse with the race ; or, 
as a thing more to be wished than obtained, some Gipsy 
take to suitable learning, and confer a rarity of information 
upon the reader of history everywhere : for the attempt 
at getting a single word of the language from the Gipsies, 
is, in almost every case, impracticable. Sir Walter Scott 
seems to have had an intention of writing an account of the 
Gipsies himself ; for, in a letter to Murray, as given by 
Lockhart, he writes : " I have been over head and ears in 
work this summer, or I would have sent the Gipsies ; indeed 
I was partly stopped by finding it impossible to procure a 
few words of their language." For this reason, the words 
furnished in this work, although few, are yet numerous, 
when the difficulties in the way of getting them are con- 
sidered. Under the chapter of Language will be found 
some curious anecdotes of the manner in which these were 
collected. 

Of the production itself little need be said. Whatever 
may be the opinion of the public in regard to it, this may be 
borne in mind, that the collecting of the materials out of 
which it is formed was attended with much trouble, and no 
little expense, but with a singular degree of pleasure, to the 
author ; and that but for the urgent and latest request of 
him whom, when alive or dead, Scotchmen have always de- 
lighted to honour, it might never have assumed its present 
form. It is what it professes to be — a history, in which the 
subject has been stripped of everything pertaining to fiction 
or even colouring ; so that the reader will see depicted, in 
their true character, tliis singular people, in the description 
of whom, owing to the suspicion and secrecy of their nature, 
writers generally have indulged in so much that is trifling 
and even fabulous. 

Such as the work is, it is offered as a contribution toward 
the filling up of that void in literature to wliich Dr. Bright 
alludes, in the introduction to his travels in Hungary, when, 
in reference to Hoyland's Survey, and some scattered notices 
of the Gipsies in periodicals, he says : " We may hope at 
some time to collect, satisfactorily, the history of this extra- 
ordinary race." It is likewise intended as a response to the 
call of a writer in Blackwood, in which he says : " Our duty 
is rather to collect and store up the raiu materials of litera- 
2 



i26 EDITOR'S PREFACE. 

ture — to gather into our repository scattered facts, hints and 
observations — which more elaborate and learned authors 
may afterwards work up into the dignified tissue of history 
or science." 

I deem it proper to remark that, in editing the work, I 
have taken some liberties with the manuscript. I have, for 
example, recast the Introduction, re-arranged some of the 
materials, and drawn more fully, in some instances, upon the 
author's authorities ; but I have carefully preserved the 
facts and sentiments of the original. I may have used some 
expressions a little familiar and perhaps not over-refined in 
their nature ; but my excuse for that is, that they are illus- 
trative of a subject that allows the use of them. 



EDITOE'S INTRODUCTION. 



The discovery and history of barbarous races of men, be- 
sides affording exquisite gratification to the general mind of 
civilized society, have always been looked upon as important 
means toward a right understanding of the history of our 
species, and the relation in which it stands to natural and 
revealed theology ; and in their prosecution have produced, 
in latter times, many instances of the most indefatigable dis- 
interestedness and greatest efforts of true courage of which 
our nature is capable ; many, in the person of the traveller, 
philanthropist and missionary, cheerfully renouncing in their 
pursuit every comfort of civilized life, braving death itself 
in every variety of form, and leaving their bones on the dis- 
tant sliore, or far away in the unknown interior of the dreary 
continent, without a trace of their fate to console those most 
dearly attached to them. The result of the discoveries 
hitherto made has invariably confirmed the conclusions of a 
few superior minds, formed without the assistance drawn 
from such a source, that under whatever circumstances man 
is placed, and whatever advantages he may enjoy, there is 
very little real difference between the characters, intrinsi- 
cally considered, of the savage and man in what is considered 
a civilized community. There is this differenc<^ "^ctween what 
may be called barbarism, not unfrequently to be met with in 
a civilized community, springing from the d-^pravity natural 
to man, and what obtains in a barbarous txibe or nation as 
such, that, in the former, it forms the exception ; tlie brother, 
the father, or the son of the person of it often exhibiting the 
most opposite nature and conduct ; while, in the latter, it 
forms the rule, and what the individual cannot, in a sense, 
avoid. But, in making this distinction, is there nothing to bo 
found within the former sphere somewhat anomalous to the 
position thus presented ? 

The subject of the following enquiry forms the exception, 

(27) 



28 EDITOR'' S INTRODUCTION. 

and from its being the only instance to be met with in the 
history of Europe, it may be said to merit the greatest con- 
yideration of the statesman, the historian, the philosopher, 
and the Christian. 

It does not appear possible, from the peculiar mould in 
which the European mind has been cast, for it to have re- 
mained in that state of immobility which, from the remotest 
antiquity, seems to have characterized that of Asia ; in which 
continent society has remained torpid and inactive, contented 
with what it has inherited, without making any effort at 
change or advancement. This peculiarity of character, in 
connexion with the influences of the Christian religion, seems 
to have had the effect of bringing about tliat thorough amal- 
gamation of races and ideas in the various countries of Eu- 
rope in which more than one people happened to occupy the 
same territory, or come under the jurisdiction of the same 
government, when no material difference in religion existed. 
In no country has sucli an amalgamation been more happily 
consummated than in our own ; if not altogether as to blood, 
at least as to feeling, the more important thing of the two ; 
the physical differences, in occasional instances, appearing in 
some localities, on the closest observation of those curious 
individuals who make such a subject the object of their 
learned researches. 

ISTotwithstanding what has been said, how does it happen 
that in Europe, but especially in our own country, there ex- 
ists, and has for four hundred years existed, a pretty numer- 
ous body of men distinct in their feelings from the general 
population, and some of them in a state of barbarism nearly 
as great as when they made their appearance amongst us ? 
Such a thing would appear to us in no way remarkable in 
the stationary condition so long prevalent in Asia ; where, 
in the case of India, for example, are to be found, inhabiting 
the same territory, a heterogeneous population, made up of the 
remnants of many nations ; where so many languages are 
spoken, and religions or superstitions professed, and the peo- 
ple divided into so many castes, which are separated from 
each other on the most trivial, and, to Europeans, ridicu- 
lous and generally incomprehensible points ; some eating 
together, and others not ; some eating mutton, and others 
not ; some beef and fowls, others vegetables, milk, but- 
ter and eggs, but no flesh or fish ; those going to sea not 



EDITORS INTRODVGTION. 29 

associating with those remaining at home ; some not follow- 
ing the occupation of others ; and all showing the most de- 
termined antipathy to associate with each other ;— where, from 
the numerous facilities so essential toward the perpetuation 
of peculiar modes of life, and the want of the powerful ele- 
ments of assimilation and amalgamation so prominent in our 
division of the human race, a people may continue in a stereo- 
typed state of mind and habits for an indefinite length of 
time. But in a country that is generally looked upon as 
the bulwark of the Reformation, and the stronghold of Euro- 
pean civilization, how does it happen that we find a people, 
resembling in their nature, though not in the degree, the all 
but fabulous tribe that was lately to be found in the dreary 
wastes of Newfoundland, flying from the approach, and cross- 
ing the imagination of the fishermen like a spectre ? Or like 
the wild men of the jungle, in some of the oceanic parts of 
Asia, having no homes, roaming during the dry season in the 
forests, and sleeping under or on the branches of trees, and 
in the rainy season betaking themselves to caves or shelter- 
ing beneath rocks, making their beds of leaves, and living 
on what they can precariously find, such as roots and wild 
honey ; yet, under the influence of the missionary, many of 
them now raising crops, building dwellings, erecting school- 
houses, keeping the Sabbath, and praising God? But some 
of the Gipi:ies with us may be said to do few of these things. 
They live among us, yet are not of us ; they come in daily 
contact with us, yet keep such distance from the community 
as a wild fowl, that occasionally finds its way into the farm- 
yard, does in shrinking from the close scrutiny of the hus- 
bandman. They cling like bats to ruined houses, caves, and 
old lime-kilns ; and pitch their tents in dry water-courses, 
quarry-holes, or other sequestered places, by the way-side, 
or on the open moor, and even on dung-heaps for the warmth 
to be derived from them during the winter season, and live 
under the bare boughs of the forest during the summer ; — 
yet amid all this apparent misery, through fair means or foul, 
they fare well, and lead what some call a happy life ; while 
everything connected with them is most solicitously wrapt 
up in inscrutable mystery. These Gipsies exhibit to the 
European mind the most inexplicable moral problem on re- 
cord ; in so far as such phenomena are naturally expected to 
be found among a people whom the rays of civilization have 



30 EDITORS INTR OB UGTION. 

never reached ; while, in the case of the Gipsies, the first 
principles of nature would seem to be set at defiance. 

"And thus 'tis ever ; what's within our ken. 
Owl-like, we blink at, and direct our search 
To fartherest Inde, in quest of novelties ; 
Whilst here at home, upon our very thresholds, 
Ten thousand objects hurtle into view, 
Of interest wonderful." 

But to give a fair description of the tented Gipsy life, I 
cannot employ more appropriate language than that of 
Doctor Bright, when, in reference to the English Gipsies, he 
says : " I am confident that we are apt to appreciate much 
too lightly the actual happiness enjoyed by this class of 
people, who, beneath their ragged tents, in the pure air of 
the heath, may well excite the envy of many of tlie poor, 
though better provided with domestic accommodation, in the 
unwholesome haunts of the town. At the approach of night, 
they draw around their humble but often abundant board, 
and then retiring to their tent, leave a faithful dog to guard 
its entrance. With the first rays of morning, they again 
meet the day, pursue their various occupations, or, rolling 
up their tents and packing all their property on an ass, set 
forward to seek the delights of some fresh heath, or tlie 
protection of some shaded copse. I leave it to those who 
have visited the habitations of the poor, to draw a compari- 
son between the activity, the free condition, and the pure 
air enjoyed by the Gipsy, and the idleness, the debaucliery, 
and the filth in which the majority of the poorer classes are 
enveloped." — " No sooner does a stranger approach tlieir fire 
on the lieath than a certain reserve spreads itself through 
the little famuy. The women talk to him in mystic language ; 
they endeavour to amuse him with secrets of futurity ; they 
suspect him to be a spy upon their actions ; and he generally 
departs as little acquainted with their true character as he 
came. Let this, however, wear away ; let him gain their 
confidence, and he will find them conversable, amusing, sen- 
sible and shrewd ; civil, but without servility ; proud of their 
independence ; and able to assign reasons for preferring 
their present condition to any other in civilized society. 
He will find them strongly attached to each other, and free 
from many cares which too often render the married life a 
source of discontent." 



EDITORS INTJRODUCTIOK 31 

In what direction ma}^ we look for the causes of such an 
anomaly in the history of our common civilization ? This 
question, however, will be discussed by and by : in the 
meantime let us consider the fact itself. 

In the early part of the fifteenth century there first ap- 
peared in Europe large hordes of a people of singular com- 
plexion and hair, and mode of life — apparently an Asiatic 
race — which, in spite of the sanguinary efforts of the gov- 
ernments of the countries through which they passed, con- 
tinued to spread over the continent, and have existed in 
large numbers to this day ; many of them in the same 
condition, and following the same modes of life, now as 
then ; and preserving their language, if not in its 
original purity, yet without its having lost its character. 
This circumstance has given rise in recent times to several 
researches, with no certain result, as to the country which 
they left on entering Europe, and still less as to the place 
or the circumstances of their origin. The latter is not to 
be wondered at, when it is considered that, in the instances 
of even the most polished nations of antiquity, nothing is 
to be found as to their origin beyond what is contained in 
the myths and fables of their earliest poets and historians. 
But considering the traces that have been left of the origin 
and early history of the people and kingdoms of Europe, 
subsequent to the fall of the Koman Empire, amid the bar- 
barism and confusion attending their establishment, and, in 
many respects, the darkness immediately and for a long time 
following it, we would naturally think that, for an event 
happening so recently as the fifteenth century, some reliable 
traces would have been discovered and bequeathed to us on 
a subject that has baffled the antiquarians of i^odern times. 

If, however, there is any doubt as to the country which 
they left on entering Europe, and their place of origin, tliere 
remains for us to consider the people generally, and in an 
especial manner those who have located themselves in Scot- 
land ; and give an account of their subsequent history in its 
various aspects, and their present condition. But before 
doing that, it would be well to take a general but cursory 
view of the political as well as social condition of Europe 
at the time they made tlieir appearance in it, so as, in some 
measure, to account for the circumstance of no trace being 
left of their previous history ; form an estimate of the rela- 



82 EDITORS INTR OB UGTION. 

live position in which they have stood to its general popur 
lation since ; and attempt to realize the feeling with which 
they have always been regarded by our own people, so as 
to account for that singular degree of dread and awe which 
have always been associated with the mention of their 
j^me ; the foundation of which has been laid in infancy. 

That which most forcibly strikes the mind of the student, 
m reading the history of the age in which the Gipsies 
entered Europe, is the political turmoil in which nearly the 
whole of the continent seems to have been embroiled for 
the greater part of a century. The desperate wars waged 
by England against what has been termed her natural 
enemy, for the recovery and retention of her ancient contin- 
ental possessions, and the struggle of the other for her bare 
existence ; the long and bloody civil wars of England, and 
the distracted state of France, torn with dissensions within, 
and menaced at various points from without ; the long and 
fanatical struggle of religion and race, between the Span- 
iards and their invaders, for the possession of the peninsula ; 
the brave stand made by the Swiss for that independence so 
much theirs by nature ; the religious wars of the Hussites, 
and the commotions throughout central Europe ; the per- 
petual internal feuds of the corrupt and turbulent southern 
republics ; the approax^hing dissolution of the dissolute 
Byzantine empire ; the appalling progress of that terrible 
power that had emerged from the wilds of Asia, subdued 
the empire, and threatened Europe from its vulnerable 
point ; all these seem to have been enough to have engrossed 
the mental energies of the various countries of Europe, and 
prevented any notice being taken of the appearance of the 
race in question. 

But over and above these convulsions, sufficient as they 
were to exclusively engage the attention of the small amount 
of cultivated intellect then in the world, there was one 
that was calculated even to paralyze the clergy, to whom, 
in that age, fell the business of recording passing events, 
and which seems to have prevented them even taking notice 
of important vmatters in the history of that time. I mean 
the schism that for so long rent the church into fragments, 
the greatest schism, indeed, that the world ever saw, when, 
for so many years, two and even three Popes reigned at 
once, each anathematizing and excommunicating the other, 



EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION. 83 

for a schism which, after an infinity of intrigues, was ulti- 
mately so happily patched np to the comfort of the church. 
On the death of Urban Y, Gregory XI became Pope, but 
soon after died, and was succeeded by Urban YI ; but the 
Cardinals, wlio were in the Frencli interest, after treating 
him as Pope for a short time, annulled the whole proceedings, 
on the plea of having been constrained in the election by 
tlie turbulence of the Roman populace, but really on account 
of the extraordinary harshness with which he began his 
reign, and chose one of themselves in his stead, under th-e 
name of Clement YII. The former remained at Pome, and 
was supported by Italy, the Empire, England and the North ; 
while Clement proceeded to Avignon, and was acknow- 
ledged by France, Spain, Scotland, and Sicily. Urban was 
respectively succeeded by Boniface IX, Innocent YI, and 
Gregory XII ; and Clement, at his death, in 1394, by 
Benedict XIII, the most implacable spirit in prolonging the 
schism, from whose authority France for a time withdrew, 
without acknowledging any other head, but afterwards 
returned, at the same time urging his resignation of the 
chair. At last the Cardinals, disgusted with the unprin- 
cipled dissimulation of both, and at their wits' end in 
devising a way to stay the scandal, and build up the 
influence of the whole church, then so i-apidly sinking in the 
estimation of the world, amidst such unheard of calamities, 
deserted both, and summoned a council, which met at Pisa, 
and in which both were deposed, and another, in the person 
of Alexander Y, elected to fill the chair. But in place of 
proving a remedy, the step rendered the schism still more 
furious. After that, John XXIII, successor to Alexander Y, 
was reluctantly prevailed on to call a council, which accord- 
ingly met at Constance, in 1414, but in which he himself 
was deposed. Martin Y being chosen, was succeeded by 
Eugenius lY. But the Fathers of Basle elected Felix Y, 
thus renewing the schism, and dividing the church for 
some years, from France and the Empire observing a neu- 
trality, while England adhered to Eugenius, Aragon and 
the smaller states to Felix ; but tlie partisans of Felix 
gradually losing their influence, Nicholas Y, the successor 
of Eugenius, after much cajolery, prevailed on him to resign 
liis claim, and thus restored peace to the world. 

At that time the kinds of learning taught were, in the 
2* 



84 EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION. 

greater part of Europe, confined to few, being almost entirely 
monopolised by the clergy and a few laymen ; by the former 
for the dogmatism of the schools and the study of the canon 
law, and by the latter for civil jurisprudence and medicine. 
Even the sons of nobles were generally wholly illiterate, 
one of them, only, being educated, to act as the clerk of tlie 
family. We are even told of a noble, when a conspiracy 
was detected, with the name of his son attached to it, saying, 
"Thank God, none of my children were ever taught to 
write." The great mass of the people, and especially those 
of the lower classes, were as ignorant of direct educational 
training as a tribe of semi-barbarians at the present day. 
Many of the nobility, although as scantily educated as the 
lowest of our own people, and having as much difficulty in 
inditing an epistle as some of these would now liave, would 
still admirably maintain their position in such a state of so- 
ciety, by the influence which their high birth and breeding, 
elevated bearing, superiority of character, and possession 
of domain, gave them ; and by the traditionary feudal awe 
tliat had sunk so deeply into the feelings of their compara- 
tively, and often absolutely, abject dependents and followers, 
extending itself, when unaccompanied by overt acts of op- 
pression, to the inhabitants of the smaller towns, where so 
many restraints surrounded their personal independence, 
from their precarious modes of living, owing to all so much 
depending on each other for a subsistence, and the endless 
jealousies prevailing among them. 

At the same time all classes, although frequently possess- 
ing a sufficiency, if not an abundance, of the rough neces- 
saries of life, enjoyed nothing of the comfort and elegancies 
of subsequent times. The house of many a noble presented 
such a plainness in furnishing as a person, in very moderate 
circumstances, would now be almost ashamed to possess. 
The circumstances of the middle classes were much more 
lowly ; plain boards and wooden trenchers, few beds but 
many shake-downs, rough stools and no chairs, with won- 
derfully few apartments relative to the size of the family, 
and much sleeping on straw-heaps in the cock-loft, marked 
the style of living of a class now deemed very respectable. 
The huts of the poorest class were as often composed of 
" sticks and dirt" as any other material, with plenishing to 
correspond. There was a marked exception to this state 



EDITOR'S INTRODVCTIOK 35 

of comparative barbarism to be found, however, in some of 
the cities of Italv, and other parts of the Mediterranean, 
tlie seats of the flourishing republics of tlie middle ages ; 
arising not only from the affluence which follows in the 
wake of extended commerce and manufactures, but also 
from the feelings with which the wreck of a highly polished 
antiquity inspired a people in whom the seeds of the former 
civilization had not died out ; heightened, as it must have 
been, by the influence of the once celebrated, but then de- 
caying, splendoiu" which the court of the long line of eastern 
emperors shed over the countries lying contiguous to it. 
The inhabitants of tlie cities of the north, on tlie other 
hand, were marked by a degree of substantial wealth and 
comfort, sense and ease, civility and liberality, which were 
apt to distinguish a people situated as they were, without 
the traditions and objects, meeting the eye at every step in 
the south, o& the greatest degree of culture in the polite 
arts of life unto which a people can attain. But, with the 
exception of the inhabitants of these cities, and some of 
those in a few of tlie cities of western Europe, the clergy 
and some of the laity, the people, as such, were sunk in deep 
ignorance and superstition, living in a state of which, in our 
favoured times, we can form no adequate conception. Then, 
life and property were held in little respect, and law tram- 
pled upon, even if it existed under more than the shadow of 
its present form ; and no roads existed but such as were for 
the greater part of the year impassable, and lay through 
forests, swamps and other uncultivated wastes, the resorts of 
numerous banditti. Then, almost no intercourse existed be- 
tween the people of one part of a country and another, 
when all were exceedingly sanguinary and rude. 

What wonder, then, that, under such circumstances, the 
race in question should have stolen into Europe unobserved, 
without leaving a trace of the circumstances connected with 
the movement ? The way by which they are supposed to 
have entered Western Europe was by Transylvania, a sup- 
position which, if not true, is at least most likely. Although, 
when first publicly taken notice of in Europe, they were found 
to move about in large bands, it is unlikely that they would 
do that while entering, but only after having experienced 
the degree of toleration and hospitality which the represen- 
tation of their condition called forth ; at least if wx) jud«^e 



36 EDITORS INTliODUCTION. 

from the cunning which they have displayed in moving about 
after their true character became known. Asia having been 
so long their home, where from time immemorial they are 
supposed to have wandered, they would have no misgiving, 
from their knowledge of its inhabitants, in passing through 
any part of it. But in contemplating an entry into Europe 
they must have paused, as one, without any experience of his 
own or of others, would in entering on the discovery of an 
unknown continent, and anxiously examined the merchants 
and travellers visiting Europe, on the various particulars of 
the country most essential to their prospects, and especially 
as to the characteristics of the people. There seems no rea- 
son for thinking that they were expelled from Asia against 
their will ; and as little for supposing that they fled rather 
than submit to a particular creed, if we judge from tlie 
great readiness with which, in form, they have submitted to 
such in Europe, when it would serve their purpose. Tlio 
only conclusion, in regard to their motive of migration, to 
which we can come, is, that having, in the course of time, 
gradually found their way to the confines of Western Asi^, 
and most likely into parts of Northern Africa, and there 
heard of the growing riches of modern Europe, they, with 
the restlessness and unsettledness of their race, longed to 
reach the Eldorado of their hopes — a country teeming with 
what they were in quest of, where they would meet with no 
rivals of their own race to cross their path. The step must 
have been long and earnestly debated, possibly for genera- 
tions, ere it was taken ; spies after spies may have surveyed 
and reported on the country, and the movement been made 
the subject of many deliberations, till at last the influence, 
address, or resolution of some chief may have precipitated 
them upon it, possibly at a time when some accidental or un- 
avoidable cause urged them to it. Nor would it be long 
ere their example was followed byotlicrs of the tribe ; some 
from motives of friendship ; others from jealousy at the idea 
of all tlie imagined advantages being reaped by those going 
before them ; and others from tlie desire of revenging un- 
settled injuries, and jealousy combined. After the die had 
been cast, tlieir first step would be to choose leaders to pro- 
ceed before the horde, spy out the richness of the land, and 
organize stations for those to follow ; and tlien continue the 
migration till all the horde had passed over. Considering 



EDITORS INTRODUCTION. 37 

that the representative part of the Gipsies have retained 
their peculiarities almost uncontaminatcd, it is in the highest 
degree probable, it may even be assumed as certain, that tliis 
was the manner in which they entered Europe : at first strag- 
glers, with systematic relays of stations and couriers, fol- 
lowed up by such small, yet numerous and closely following, 
companies, as almost to escape the notice of the authorities 
of the countries through which they passed ; a mode of tra- 
velling which they still pursue in Great Britain. But when 
any special obstacle was to be encountered in their journey 
— such, for example, as the hostility of the inhabitants of any 
particular place — they would concentrate their strength, so 
as to force their way through. Their next step would be to 
arrange among themselves the district of country each tribe 
was to occupy. After their arrival, they seem to have appeared 
publicly in large bands, growing emboldened by the generous 
reception which they met with for some time after their 
appearance ; and they seem to have had the sagacity to 
know, that if they secured the favour of the great, that of 
the small would necessarily follow. 

But if the first appearance of the Gipsies in Europe had a 
difi'erent complexion from what I have conjectured, there are 
other causes to which may be attributed the fact of its not 
being known. Among these is to be found the distracted 
state of the Eastern Empire in its struggles with the Turks, 
which led to the capture of its capital, and the subversion 
of the Greek rule in the East. The literary and other men 
of note, scattered over the provinces, likely to chronicle such 
an event as the appearance of the Gipsies, must necessarily 
have betaken themselves to the capital, as each district sub- 
mitted to tlie conquerors, and so lost the opportunity of wit- 
nessing the migration, under such circumstances as would 
have made it observable, assuming that the Gipsies travelled 
in large companies, which, under all the circumstances of the 
case, was not, on all occasions, likely. The surrounding 
countries having been the theatre of so many changes in 
the history of the human family, and the inhabitants having 
undergone so many changes of masters, leading to so many 
distinct races, from the intellectual and cultivated Greek to 
the barbarous Arab and dusky Moor, of so various hues and 
habits, many of whom would be found in such a city as Con- 
stantinople, what peculiarity was there about the Gipsies to 



88 EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION. 

attract the notice of the haughty Greek, characterized as he 
was by all the feelings of disdain which his ancestors dis- 
played in not even naming the Jews and early Christians? 
Then, if we consider the peculiar turn which the new-born 
literary pursuits of learned men assumed during that age — 
how it was exclusively confined to the restoration of the 
classics, and followed in Europe by the influx of the Greeks 
during the troubles of their country, we will find another 
reason for the manner of the first appearance of the Gipsies 
not being known. Nor is it to be expected that any light 
would be thrown on the subject by the memoirs of any of 
our own countrymen, visiting the East at a time when so little 
intercourse existed between the West and that part of 
the world ; nothing perhaps beyond a commercial or mari- 
time adventurer, under the flag of another nation, or one 
whose whole acquirements consisted in laying lance in rest 
and mounting the breach in an assault ; it being a rare thing 
even to see an English ship in the Mediterranean during the 
whole of the fifteenth century. 

That the Gipsies were a tribe of Hindoo Sudras, driven, 
by the cruelty of Timour, to leave Hindostan, is not for a 
moment to be entertained ; for why should that conqueror 
have specially troubled himself with the loivest class of Hin- 
doos ? or why should they, in particular, have left Hindos- 
tan ? It would have been the ruling, or at least the higher ^ 
classes of Hindoo society against which Timour would have 
exercised any acts of cruelty ; the lowest would be pretty 
much beneath his notice. Not only do we not read of such 
a people as the Hindoos ever having left their country on 
any such account — for it is contrary to their genius and feel- 
ings of caste to do so — but the opinion that the Gipsies left 
India on Timour's account rests on no evidence whatever, 
beyond the simple circumstance that they were first taken 
notice of in Europe about the time of his overrunning India. 
Mr. Borrow very justly remarks : " It appears singular that 
if they left their native land to escape from Timour, they 
should never have mentioned, in the western world, the name 
of that scourge of the human race, nor detailed the history 
of their flight and sufferings, which assuredly would have 
procured them sympathy ; the ravages of Timour being al- 
ready but too well known in Europe." Still, Mr. Borrow 
does not venture to give reasons for the trustworthiness or 



EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION 89 

untriistworthiness of a passage in Arabschah's life of 
Timour, in wliicli it is said that Gipsies were found in 
Samarcand at a time before that conqueror had even directed 
his thoughts to the invasion of India. The description 
given of these Zingari or Gipsies of Samarcand is as ap- 
plicable to the Gipsies as possibly can be ; for in it it is 
said, " Some were wrestlers, others gladiators, others pugi- 
lists. These people were much at variance, so that hostili- 
ties and battling were continually arising amongst tliera. 
Each band had its chief and subordinate officers." How 
applicable this description is to the Scottish Gipsies, down 
to so late a period as the end of last century 1 

If there is little reason for thinking that the Gipsies left 
India owing to the cruelties of Timour, there is less for 
supposing, as Mr. Borrow supposes, that their being called 
Egyptians originated, not with themselves, but with others ; 
for he says that the tale of their being Egyptians " probably 
originated amongst the priests and learned men of the east 
of Europe, who, startled by the sudden apparition of bands 
of people foreign in appearance and language, skilled in 
divination and the occult arts, endeavoured to find in Scrip- 
ture a clue to such a phenomenon ; the result of which was 
that the Romas (Gipsies) of Hindostan were suddenly trans- 
formed into Egyptian penitents, a title wliich they have ever 
since borne in various parts of Europe." Why should the 
priests and learned men of the east of Europe go to the 
Bible to find the origin of such a people as the Gipsies ? 
What did priests and learned men know of the Bible at the 
beginning of the fifteentli century? Did every priest, at 
that time, know there even was such a book as the Bible in 
existence ? The priests and learned men of the east of Eu- 
rope were more likely to turn to the eastern nations for the 
origin of the Gipsies, than to Egypt, were the more matter 
of the skill of the Gipsies in divination and the occult arts 
to lead them to make any enquiry into their history. But 
what could have induced the priests and learned men to 
take any such particular interest in the Gipsies ? Wlicn 
the Gipsies entered Europe, they would feel under the neces- 
sity of saying who they were. Having committed tliemselvcs 
to that point, how could they afterwards call themselves by 
that name which Mr. Borrow supposes tlie priests and 
learned men to have given them ? Or, 1 phould rather say, 



40 EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION. 

how could the priests and learned men think of giving them 
a name after they themselves had said who thej were ? And 
did the priests and learned men invent the idea of the Gip- 
sies being pilgrims, or bestow upon their leaders the titles 
of dukes, earls, lords, counts and knights of Little Eirypt ? 
Assuredly not ; all these matters must liave originated with 
tlie Gipsies themselves. The truth is, Mr. Borrow has evi- 
dently had no opportunities of learning, or, at least, has not 
duly appreciated, the real mental acquirements of the early 
Gipsies, an idea of which will be found in the history of 
the race on their first general arrival in Scotland, about a 
hundred years after they were first taken notice of in Eu- 
rope, during which time they are not supposed to have 
made any great progress in mental condition. I may ven- 
ture to say that the prophecy of Ezekiel,^ in regard to the 
scattering of the Egyptians, does not apply to the Gipsies, 
for this reason, that such of these Egyptians as were (^amec^ 
mvay captive would become lost among otlier nations, while 
the " mixed multitude '' which left Egypt with the Jews, tra- 
velled East, their oion masters, and became the origin of the 
Gipsy nation throughout the world. If we could but find 
traces of an Egyptian origin among the Gipsies of Asia, say 
Central and Western Asia, the question would be beyond 
dispute. But that might be a matter of some trouble. I 
am inclined to believe that the people in India corresponding 
to the Gipsies in Europe, will be found among those tented 
tribes who perform certain services to the British armies ; 
at all events there is such a tribe in India, who are called 
Gipsies by the Europeans who come in contact with them. 
A short time ago, one of these people, who followed the occu- 
pation of a camel driver in India, found his way to England, 

* Ezek. xxix. 12,-14, and xxx. 10, 23, and 26. — The scattering of the 
Egyptians, here foretold, is a subject about which very little is known. ' 
Scott, in commenting* on it, says : " History informs us that Nebuchadnez- 
zar conquered Egypt, and carrying multitudes of prisoners hence, dispersed 
them in different parts of his dominions: and doubtless great numbers 
perislied, or took shelter in other nations at the same time. But we are 
not sufficiently informed of the transactions of those ages, to show the exact 
fulfilment of this part of the prophecy, as has been done in other instances." 

The bulk of the Egyptians were doubtless restored to their country, af 
promised in Ezek. xxix. 13, 14, and it is not impossible that the Gipsies are 
the descendants of such as did not return to Egypt. The language which 
they now speak proves nothing to the contrary, as, since the time in ques- 
tion, they have had opportunities to learn and unlearn many languages. 



EDITORS INTRODUCTION. 41 

and " pulled up " with some Englisli Gipsies, whom he recog- 
nized as his own people ; at least he found that they liad tlie 
ways and ceremonies of them. But it would be unreasonable 
to suppose that such% tribe in India did not follow various 
occupations. Bishop Heber, on several occasions, speaks of 
certain tents of people whom he met in India, as Gipsies. 
But I can conceive nothing more difficult than an attempt to 
elucidate the history of any of the infinity of sects, castes, or 
tribes to be met with in India.* What evidently leads Mr. 
Borrow and others astray, in tlie matter of the origin of the 
Gipsies, is, that tliey conclude that, because the language 
spoken by the Gipsies is apparently, or for the most part, 
Hindostanee, therefore the people speaking it originated in 
Hindostan ; as just a conclusion as it would be to maintain 
that the Negroes in Liberia originated in England because 
they speak the English language ! 

The leaders of the Gipsies, on the arrival of the body in 
Europe, and for a long time afterwards, seem to have been 
a superior class to those known as Gipsies to-day ; although, 
if the more intelligent of the race were observable to the 
general eye, they would, in many respects, compare most 

* Abbe Dubois says : " In every country of the Peninsula, great num- 
bers of foreign families are to be found, whose ancestors had been obliged 
to emigrate thither, in times of trouble or famine, from their native land, and 
to establish themselves amongst strangers. This species of emigration is 
very common in all the countries of India ; but what is most remarkable is, 
that in a foreign land, these emigrants preserve, from generation to generation, 
their own language and national peculiarities. Many instances might be 
pointed out of such foreign families, settled four or five hundred years in the 
district they now inhabit, without approximating in the least to the man- 
ners, fashions, or even to the language, of the nation where they have been 
for so many generations naturalized. They still preserve the remembrance 
of their origin, and keep up the ceremonies and usages of the land wliere 
their ancestors were born, without ever receiving any tincture of the parti- 
cular habits of the countries where they live." — Preface xvii. 

At page 47(), he gives an instance of a wandering tribe in the Mysore and 
Telinga country, originally employed in agriculture, who, a hundred and 
fifty years previously, took up their vagrant and wandering life, in conse- 
quence of the severe treatment which the governor of the province was 
going to inflict upon some of their favourite cliiefs. To this kind of life they 
have grown so much accustomed, that it would be impossible to reclaim 
them to any fixed or sedentary habits ; and they have never entertained a 
thought of resuming their ancient manners. They sojourn in the open 
fields, under small tents of bamboo, and wander from place to place as 
humour dictates. They amount to seven or eight thousand individuals, 
are divided into tribes, and are under the government of chiefs, and main- 
tain a great respect for the property of others. 



42 EDITORS INTRODUCTION. 

favourably with many of our middle classes. If the leaders 
of the Gipsies, at that time, fell behind some of even the no- 
bility, in the pittance of the education of letters which the 
latter possessed, they made up for it in ttat practical sagacity, 
the acquisition of which is almost unavoidable in the school in 
which, from infancy, they had been educated — tliat of provid- 
ing for the shifts and exigencies of wliich their lives, as a 
whole, consisted ; besides showing that superior aptitude for 
many of the things of every-day life, so inseparable from the 
success to which a special pursuit will lead. A Gipsy leader 
stood, then, somewhat in the position towards a gentleman 
that a swell does to-day ; with this difference, that he was 
not apt to commit himself by the display of that ignorance 
which unmasks tlie swell ; an ignorance wliich the gentleman, 
in spite of his little learning, no less shared in. If the latter 
happened to be well educated, the Gipsy could still pass 
muster, from being as well, or rather as ill, informed as many 
with whom the gentleman associated. The Gipsy being 
alert, capable of playing many cliaracters, often a good musi- 
cian, an excellent player at games of hazard, famous at tale 
and repartee, clever at sleight of hand tricks, ready with his 
weapon, at least in the boast of it, apt at field and athletic 
sports, suspicious of everything and everybody around him, 
the whole energies of his mind given to, and his life spent in, 
circumventing and plundering those around him, while, in 
appearance, " living in peaceable and catholic manner," and 
" doing a lawful business," and having that thorough know- 
ledge of men acquired by mixing with all classes, in every 
part of the country — he became even more than a match for 
the other, whose life was spent in occasional forays, field 
sports and revellings, with so little to engage his intellectual 
nature, from his limited education, the non-existence of books, 
and the forms of government and social institutions, with 
tliose beautifully complicated bearings and interests towards 
general society which the present age displays. At such a 
time, conversation must have been confined to the ordinary 
affairs of common life, the journal of much of which, beyond 
one's own immediate neighbourhood, would be found in the 
conversation of the accomplished Gipsy, who had the tact of 
ingratiating himself, in a manner peculiar to himself, with all 
kinds of society, even sometimes the very best. And it is 
remarkable tliat, when the Gipsies were persecuted, it was 



EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION, 43 

seldom, if ever, at the instance of private individuals, but 
almost always by those acting under authority. If they 
were persecuted by a private individual, they would natur- 
ally leave for another district, and place themselves, for a 
time, in the nominal position of a clansman to such barons as 
would be always ready to receive them. The people at large 
generally courted their friendship, for the amusement which 
they afforded them, and the various services which they ren- 
dered them, the most important of which was the safety of 
property which followed from such an acquaintance. That 
being the case even with people of influence, it may be judged 
what position the Gipsies occupied towards the various 
classes downwards ; the lowest of which they have always 
despised, and delighted to tyrannize over. In coming among 
them, the Gipsies, from the first, exhibited ways of life and 
habits so dissimilar to those of the natives, and such tricks 
of legerdemain so peculiar to Eastern nations, and such 
claims of seeing into the future, as to cause man^^ to believe 
them in league w^ith the evil one ; a conclusion .cry easily 
arrived at, in the darkness in which all were wrapped. Al- 
though the rabble of the Gipsies is said to have presented, 
in point of accoutrements, a most lamentable appearance, 
that could much more have been said of the same class of 
the natives, then, and long after, if we judge of a Highland 
" tail," of a little more than a century ago, as described by 
the author of Waverley ; or even of the most unwashed oi* 
what has been termed the " unwashed multitude " of to-day. 
In point of adaptability to their respective modes of life, the 
poorest of the Gipsies far excelled the others. To carry out 
the character of pilgrims, the bulk of the Gipsies would go 
very poorly dressed ; it would only be the chiefs who would 
be well accoutred. 

But the Gipsies that appear to the general eye have fallen 
much from what tliey were. The superior class of Scottish 
Gipsies, possessing the talents and policy necessary to accom- 
modate themselves to the change of circumstances around 
them, have adopted the modes of ordinary life to such au 
extent, and so far given up tlieir wandering habits, as to 
baffle any chance of discovery by any one unacquainted with 
their history, and wlio will not, like a bloodhound, follow 
them into tlie retreats in whicli they and their descendants 
are now to be found. Such Gipsies are still a restless race, 



44 EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION. 

and nourish that inveterate attachment to their blood and 
language which is peculiar to all of them. When we con- 
sider the change that has come over the face of society dur- 
ing the last hundred years, or even during a much shorter 
time, we will find many causes that have contributed to that 
which has come over the Gipsy character in its more atro- 
cious aspect. All classes of our own people, from the highest 
to the lowest, have experienced the change ; and nowhere 
to a greater extent than in the Highlands, where, in little 
more than a hundred years, a greater reformation has been 
effected, than took almost any other part of the world per- 
haps three centuries to accomplish ; and where the people, 
as a body, have emerged, from a state of sanguinary barbar- 
ism, into the most lawful and the most moral and religious 
subjects of the British Empire. The Gipsies have likewise 
felt the change. Even the wildest of them have had the 
more outrageous features of their character subdued ; but it 
is sometimes as an animal of prey, sans teeth, sans claws, sans 
everything. Officials, in the zeal of their callings, often 
greatly distress those that go about — compelling them, in 
their wanderings, to " move on ;" and look after them so 
closely, that when they become obnoxious to the inhabitants, 
the offence has hardly occurred, ere, to use an expression, 
they are snapped up before they have had time to squeak. 
Amid such a state of things, it is difficult for Gipsies to 
flourish in their glory ; still, such of them as go about in the 
olden form are deemed very annoying. 

The dread which has always been entertained toward the 
Gipsies has been carefully fostered by them, and has become 
the principal means contributing to their toleration. They 
have always been combined in a brotherhood'of sentiment 
and interest, even when deadly feuds existed among them ; 
an injury toward one being generally taken up by others ; 
and have presented that union of sympathy, and lawless 
violence toward the community, which show what a few 
audacious and desperate men, under such circumstances, will 
sometimes do in a well regulated society. Sir Walter Scott, 
relative to the original of one of his heroines, says : " She 
was wont to say that she could bring, from the remotest 
parts of the island friends, to revenge her quarrel, while she 
sat motionless in her cottage ; and frequently boasted that 
there was a time when she was of still more considerable 



EDITORS INTRODUCTION. 45 

importance, when tlicre were at her wedding fifty saddled 
asses, and unsaddled asses witliout number." But of their 
various crimes, none have had such terrors for the grown-up 
person as those of fire-raising and cliild-stealing. The Gipsy 
could easily steal into a well guarded but scattered premises, 
by night, and, in an instant, spread devastation around him, 
and irretrievable ruin to the rural inhabitant. But that 
wliich has, perhaps, contributed most to the feeling in ques- 
tion, has been their habit of child-stealing, the terrors of 
which have grown up with the people from infancy. Tliis 
trait in the Gipsy character has certainly not been so com- 
mon, in latter times, as some others ; still, it has taken place. 
As an instance, it may be mentioned that Adam Smith, the 
author of the great work called "An Enquiry into the 
Causes of the Wealth of Nations," was actually carried off 
by the Gipsies, when a child, and was some hours in tlieir 
possession before recovery. It is curious to think what 
might have been the political state of so many nations, and 
of Great Britain in particular, at the present time, if the 
father of political economy and free-trade, as he is generally 
called, had had to pass his life in a Gipsy encampment, and, 
like a white transferred to an Indian wigwam, under similar 
circumstances, acquired all their habits, and become more 
incorrigibly attached to them than the people themselves ; 
tinkering kettles, pots, pans and old metal, in place of sepa- 
rating the ore of a beautiful science from the debris which 
had been for generations accumulating around it, and work- 
ing it up into one of the noblest monuments of modern times. 
When a child will become unruly, the father will often 
say, in the most serious manner, " Mother, that canna be 
our bairn — the Tinklers must have taken ours, and left 
theirs — are you sure that this is ours ? Gie him back to 
the Gipsies again, and get our ain." The other children 
will look as bewildered, while the subject of remark will 
instantly stop crying, and look around for sympathy ; but 
meeting nothing but suspicion in the faces of all, will 
instinctively flee to its mother, who as instinctively clasps it 
to her bosom, quieting its terrors, as a mother only can, 
with the lullaby, 

" Hush nae, hush nae, dinna fret ye ; 
The black Tinkler winna get ye,"* 

* The Gipsies frighten their children in the same manner, by saying 
that they will give them to the Oorqio. 



46 EDITORS INTRODUCTIOK 

And the result is, that it will remain a " good bairn" for a 
long time after. This feeling, drawn into the juvenile mind, 
as food enters into the growth of the body, acts like the 
influence of the stories of ghosts and hobgoblins, often so 
inconsiderately told to children, but differs from it in this 
respect, that what causes it is true, while its effects are 
always more or less permanent. It has had this effect upon 
our youth — in connection with the other habits of the people, 
so outlandish when compared with the ways of our own — that 
should they happen to go a little distance from home, on such 
expeditions as boys are given to, and fall in with a Gipsy 
camp, a strange sensation of fear takes possession of them. 
The camp is generally found to be pitched in some little dell 
or nook, and so hidden from view as not to be noticed till 
the stranger is almost precipitated into its midst ere he is 
aware of it. What with the traditionary feeling toward 
the Gipsies, and the motley assemblage of wild looking 
men, and perhaps still wilder looking women, ragged little 
urchins, ferocious looking dogs, prepared for an assault with 
an instinct drawn from the character of their masters, and 
tlie droll appearance of so many cuddies (asses,) startled in 
their browsing — animals that generally appear singly, but, 
when driven by Gipsies, come in battalions ; — the boys, at 
first rivetted to the spot with terror, will slip away as 
quietly as possible till a little way off, and then run till 
they have either arrived at home, or come within the reach 
of a neighbourhood or people likely to protect them, 
although, it might be, the Gipsies had not even noticed 
them."^ Curiosity is so strong in our youth, in such cases, 
as often to induce tliem to return to the spot, after being 
satisfied that the Gipsies have decamped for another district. 
They will then examine the debris of the encampment with 
a great degree of minuteness, wreaking their vengeance on 
what is left, by turning up with their feet the refuse of 
almost everything edible, particularly as regards the bones 
and feathers of fowl and game, and, if it happened to be 
near the sea, crab, limpet, and whelk shells, and heaps of 
tin clippings and horn scrapings. In after life, they will 
often think of and visit the scenes of such adventures. At 
other times, our youth, when rambling, will often make a 

* As children, have we not, at some time, run affrighted from a Gipsy ? 
— Grellmann on the Hungarian Gipsies. 



EDITOR'S INTRODVCTIOK 47 

detour of several miles, to avoid falling in with the dreaded 
Gipsies. The report of Gipsies being about acts as a salu- 
tary check upon the depredatory habits of tlie youth of our 
country towns on neighbouring crops ; for, as tlie farmers 
make up their minds to lose something by the Gipsies, at any 
rate, the wholesome dread they inspire, even in grown-up 
lads, is such as, by night especially, to scare away the thieves 
from those villages, whose plunderings are much greater, 
and more unwillingly submitted to, from the closeness of 
residence of the offenders ; so that the arrival of the Gipsies, 
in some places, is welcomed, at certain times of the year, 
as the lesser of two evils ; and, to that extent, tliey have 
been termed the " farmers' friends." And if a little en- 
couragement is given them — such as the matter of " dogs' 
payment," that is, what they can eat and drink, and a mouth- 
ful of something for the cuddy, for the first day after their 
arrival — the farmer can always enlist an admirable police, 
who will guard his property against others, with a degree 
of faithfulness that can hardly be surpassed. I heard of a 
Scottish farmer, very lately, getting the Gipsies to take up 
their quarters every year on the corner of a potato or turnip 
field, with the express purpose of using them, as half con- 
stables half scare-crows, against the common rogues of the 
neighbourhood. *' Now," said he to the principal Gipsy, " I 
put you in charge of this property. If you want anything 
for yourselves, come to the barn." Whatever miglit have 
been the experience of farmers near by, this farmer never 
missed anything while the Gipsies were on his premises. 

But a greater degree of awe is inspired by the females 
than the males of the Gipsies. In tlieir periodical wander- 
ings, they will generally, with their fortune-telling, turn the 
heads of the country girls in matters of matrimony — setting 
them all agog on husbands ; and render them, for the time, 
of but little use to tlieir employers. In teaching them the 
" art of love," they will professedly so instruct them as to 
have as many lovers at once as their hearts can desire. But 
if a country girl, with her many admirers, has one to get 
rid of, who is " no' very weel faurcd, but a clever fellow," 
or another, who is " no' very bright in the upper story, but 
strapping enough to become the dish-clout," she will call in 
the assistance of the strolling Gipsy ; who, after carefully 
weighing the circumstances cf the case, will sometimes, after 



48 EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION. 

ordinary means have failed, collect, unknown to her, a 
bucket full of everything odious about a dwelling, wait at 
the back door the return of the rustic Adonis, and, ere he is 
aware, dash it full in his face ; then fold her arms akimbo, 
and quietly remark, " That will cool your ears, and youi 
courting too, my man !" Such Gipsy women are peculiarly 
dreaded by the males of our own people, who will much 
sooner encounter those of the other sex ; for, however much 
some of them may be satisfied, in their cooler moments, that 
these Gipsy women will not attempt what they will some- 
times threaten, they generally deem them " unco uncanny," 
at any time, and will flee when swearing that they will gut 
or shin alive all who may have anything to say to them. 

To people unacquainted with the peculiarities of the Gip- 
sies, it may appear that this picture is overdrawn. But Sir 
"Walter Scott, who is universally allowed to be a true de- 
picter of Scottish life, in every form, says, in reference to the 
original of Meg Merrilies, in Guy Mannering : " I remember 
to have seen one of her grand-daughters ; that is, as Dr. 
Johnson had a shadowy recollection of Queen Anne — a stately 
lady in black, adorned with diamonds ; so my memory is 
haunted by a solemn remembrance of a woman, of more than 
female height, dressed in a long, red cloak, who commenced 
acquaintance by giving me an apple, but whom,nevertlieless, 
I looked on with as much awe as the future Doctor could 
look upon the Queen." And he approvingly quotes another 
writer, as to her daughter, as follows : " Every week, she paid 
my father a visit for her aiunions, when I was a little boy, 
and I looked on her with no common degree of awe and 
terror." The same feeling, somewhat modified, I have lieard 
expressed by Germans, Spaniards, and Italians. In Eng- 
land, the people do not like to trouble the Gipsies, owing to 
their being so " spiteful," as they express it. The feeling in 
question cannot well be realized by people reared in towns, 
wlio have, perhaps, never seen Gipsies, or heard much about 
them ; but it is different with youths brouglit up in tlie coun- 
try. When the Gipsies, in tlieir peregrinations, will make 
their appearance at a farmer's house, especially if it is in the 
pastoral districts, and the farmer be a man of information 
and reflection, he will often treat them kindly, from the in- 
terest with which their singular history inspires him ; and 
others, not unkindly, from other motives. The farmer's sons, 



EDIT 01V S INTRODUCTION. 49 

who arc young and liasty, probably but recently returned 
from a town, wlicre tliey have been jeered at for their cow- 
ardice in being afraid to meddle with the Gipsies, will show 
a disposition to use them roughly, on the cry arising in the 
house, that ." the Tinklers are coming." But the old father, 
cautious with tlie teachings of years gone by, will become 
alarmed at such symptoms, and, before the Gipsies have 
approached the premises, will urge his children to treat them 
kindly. " Be canny now, bairns — be canny ; for any sake 
dinna anger them ; gie them a' they want, and something 
more." With tliis, a good fat sheep will sometimes be killed, 
and the band regaled with Icail^ and its accompaniments ; or, 
if they are very nice gahhit^ it will be served up to them in a 
roasted form. Thereafter, they will retire to the barn, and 
start in the morning on something better than an empty 
stomach. 

And yet it is singular that, if the Gipsies are met in the 
streets of a town, or any considerably frequented place, peo- 
ple will, in passing them, edge ojQT a little to the side, and 
look at them with a degree of interest, which, on ordinary 
occasions, tlie Gi[)sies will but little notice. But if a person 
of respectable appearance will scrutinize them in an ominous 
way, they will observe it instantly ; and, as a swell-mobsman, 
on being stared at by a detective, on the mere suspicion of 
liis being sucli, generally turns the first cross street, and, in 
turning, anxiously looks after his enemy, who, after calcu- 
lating the distance, has also turned to watch his movements, 
so the Gipsy will become excited, soon turning round to 
watch the movements of the object of his dread ; a fear that 
will be heightened if any of his band has been spoken to. 
And such is the masonic secrecy with which they keep tlieir 
language, that should they at the time have rested on the 
road-side, and the stranger assume the most impressive tone, 
and say : " Sallah, jaio drom " — (curse you, take the road), 
the effects upon them are at first bewildering, and followed 
by a feeling of some dire calamity that is about to befall 
them. When any of the poorest kind can be prevailed upon 
to express a candid sentiment, and be asked how they really 
do get on, tliey will reply, " It's only day and way we want, 
ye ken — what a farmer body ne'er can miss ; foreljy selling a 
spoon, and tinkering a kettle now and then." 

In viewing the effects of civilization upon a barbarous 
3 



50 EDITOR'S INTllODUCTIOK 

race, we are naturally led to confine our reflections to some 
of the instances in which the civilized race has carried its 
influence abroad to those beyond its pale, to the exclusion 
of those instances, from their infrequency of occurrence, in 
which the barbarous race, of its own accord or otherwise, 
has come within its circle. There are but two instances, in 
modern times, in wliich the latter has happened, and they are 
well worthy of our notice. The one is, the existence of the 
Gipsies, in the very heart of civilization ; the other, that of 
the Africans in the various European settlements in the 
]^ew World ; and between these a short comparison may 
be instituted, although at the risk of it being deemed a 
digression. 

The forcible introduction of barbarous men into the colon- 
ies of civilized nations, in spite of the cruelties which many 
of them have undergone, has greatly improved their condi- 
tion — their moral and intellectual nature — at the expense 
of the melancholy fact of it being advanced as a reason Of 
justification for that sad anomaly in the history of our times. 
The African, it is admitted, was forcibly brought under 
the influence of the refinement, religion, and morals of 
the whites, whether as a domestic under the same roof, 
a field labourer, in the immediate vicinity of the master, or 
in some other way under his direct control and example. 
!N"ot only was he, as it were, forced to become what he is, 
but his obedient, light-hearted, and imitative nature, even 
under many bodily sufi'e rings, instinctively led him to enter 
immediately into tlie spirit of a new life, presenting to his 
barbarous imagination, so destitute of everything above the 
grossest of animal wants and propensities, those wonderfully 
incessant and complicated employments ot a being, appearing 
to him as almost a god, when compared with his own savage 
and unsophisticated nature. The importations comprised 
Negroes of many dialects, which were distributed on arrival 
in every direction. A large proportion would live singly 
with the poorer classes of the colonists, as domestics ; two 
or three would be the limited number with many others, and 
the remainder would be disposed of, in larger or smaller 
numbers, for the various services necessary in civilized life. 
Single domestics would be under the necessity of learning tlie 
language of the master ; and, having none speaking their 
own dialect to commune with, or only occasionally meeting 



EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION. 51 

such, momentarily, they would soon forget it. When sev- 
eral of different dialects lived togetlier, they would natur- 
ally follow the same course, to communicate with each other. 
All these circumstances, witli the frequent changes of masters 
and companions, and the general influence which tlie whites 
exercised so supremely over them, have had the effect of al- 
most erasing every trace of the language, customs, and super- 
stitions of Africa, in parts of the United States of America, 
in little more than one generation. The same may especially 
be said of what pertains to the religious ; for a race of men, 
in a state of nature, or but slightly civilized, depending for 
such instruction on the adjunct of a superior grade, in the 
person of a priest, would, on being deprived of such, soon 
lose recollection of what had been taught them. Such an 
instance as to language, and, I understand, to a great extent 
as to religion, is to be found in St. Domingo ; French and 
Spanish being spoken in the parts of that island which be- 
longed to these countries respectively. Still, such traces are 
to be found in Cuba ; but, were importations of Africans into 
that island to cease, the same result would, in course of time, 
follow. From such causes as those stated, the Negroes in 
the United States have, to a very great extent, nay, as far 
as their advantages and opportunities have gone, altogether, 
acquired the ways of civilized life, and adopted the morals 
and religion of the white race ; and their history compares 
favourably with that of a portion of the Gipsy race, which, 
being unique, and apparently incomprehensible, I will insti- 
tute a short enquiry into some of the causes of it. 

While the language and common origin of the Gipsies hold 
them together as a body, their mode of life has taken sucli a 
hold on the innate nature of the representative part of them, 
as to render it difficult to wean them from it. Like the 
North American Indians, they have been incapable of being 
reduced to a state of servitude ;^ and, in their own peculiar 
way, have been as much attached to a life of unrestricted 
freedom of movement. Being an Oriental people, they havo 
displayed tlie uniformity of attachment to habit, that has 
characterized the people of that part of the world. Like 
the maidens of Syria, wearing to-day the identical kind of 
veil with which Rebecca covered herself when she met 

* There is an exception, however, to this rule in the Danubian Princi- 
palities, to which I will again refer. 



52 EDITORS INTRODUCTION. 

Isaac, they have, with few exceptions, adhered to all that 
originally distinguished them from those among whom they 
are found. In entering Europe, they would meet with few 
customs which they would willingly adopt in preference to 
their own. Their chiefs, being men of ambition, and fond 
of a distinguished position in the tribe, would influence the 
body to remain aloof from the people at large ; and society 
being divided between the nobles and their various grades 
of dependents, and the restrained inhabitants of towns, with 
what part of the population could the Gipsies have been in- 
corporated? With the lowest classes only, and become 
little better than serfs — a state to which it was almost im- 
possible for a Gipsy to submit. His habits rendered him 
unfit to till the soil ; the close and arbitrary law^s of muni- 
cipalities would debar him from exercising almost any me- 
chanical trade, in a way suitable to his disposition ; and, no 
matter what might have been his natural propensities, he 
had almost no alternative left him but to wander, peddle, 
tinker, tell fortunes, and " find things that nobody ever lost." 
His natural disposition was to rove, and partake of whatever 
he took a liking to ; nothing coming so acceptabl^^ and so 
sweetly to him, as when it required an exercise of ingenuity, 
and sometimes a degree of danger, in its acquisition, and 
caused a corresponding chagrin to him from whom it was 
taken, without afi"ording him any trace of the purloiner. 
He must also enjoy the sports of the river and lake, the 
field, hill and forest, and the pleasure of his meal, cooked 
after his own fashion, in some quiet spot, where he would 
pitch his tent, and quench his thirst at his favourite 
springs. Then followed the persecution of his race ; both 
by law and society it was declared outcast, although, by a 
large part of the latter, it w^as, from selfish motives, tolerated, 
and, in a measure, courted. The Gipsy's mode of life ; his 
predatory habits ; his vindictive disposition toward his ene- 
mies ; his presumptuous bearing toward the lower classes, who 
had purchased his friendship and protection ; his astuteness 
in doubling upon and escaping his pursuers ; his audacity, 
under various disguises and pretences, in bearding justice, 
and the triumphant manner in whicli he would generally 
escape its toils ; his utter destitution of religious opinions, 
or sentiments ; his being a foreigner of such strongly marked 
appearance, under the legal and social ban of proscription ; 



EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION. 53 

and the hereditary name wliich has, in consequence, attached 
to his race, have created those broad and deep-drawn lines of 
isolation, fear and antipathy, which, in the popular mind, 
have separated him from other men. To escape from the 
dreadful prejudice that is, in consequence, entertained toward 
his race, the Gipsy will, if it be possible, hide the fact of his 
being a Gipsy ; and more especially when he enters upon 
settled life, and mixes with his fellow-men in the world. 

In the general history of Europe, we can find nothing to 
illustrate that of the Gipsies. But if we take a glance at 
the history of the New World, we will find, in a mild and 
harmless form, something that bears a slight resemblance to 
it. In various parts of the eastern division of North 
America are to be found remnants of tribes of Indians, 
living in the hearts of the settlements, on reserves of lands 
granted to them for their support ; a race bearing somewhat 
the same resemblance to the European settlers that the 
Gipsies, with their dark complexion, and long, coarse, black 
hair, seem to have borne to the natives of Europe. Few of 
these Indians, although in a manner civilized, and professing 
the Christian religion, and possessing houses, schools and 
churches, have betaken, or, if they support their numbers, 
will ever betake, themselves to the ways of the other in- 
habitants. They will engage in many things to make a 
living, and a bare living • in that respect very much resem- 
bling some of the Gipsies. They will often leave their 
home, and build their wigwams whenever and wherever 
they have a mind, and indulge in the pleasures of hunting 
and laziness ; and often make numerous small wares for 
sale, with the proceeds of which, and of the timber growing 
on their lots of land, they will manage to pass their lives in 
little better than sloth, often accompanied by drunkenness. 
If it prove otherwise, it is generally from the Indian, or 
rather half or quarter breed, having been wholly or partly 
reared with whites, or otherwise brought up under their 
immediate influence ; or from the ambition of their chiefs to 
raise themselves in the estimation of the white race, leading, 
from the influence which they possess, to some of the lower 
grades of the tribes following their example. It may be 
that the " poor Indian" has voluntarily exiled himself, in a 
fit of melancholy, from the wreck of his patrimony, to make 
a miserable shift for himself elsewhere, as he best may. In 



64 EDITORS INTRODUCTIOK 

this respect the resemblance fails : that the Indian in America 
is aboriginal, the Gipsy in Europe foreign, to the soil ; but both 
are characterized by a nature that renders them almost 
impervious to voluntary change. In this they resemble 
each other : that they are left to live by themselves, and 
transmit to their descendants their respective languages, 
and such of their habits as the change in their outward cir- 
cumstances will permit. But in this they differ : that these 
Indians really do die out, while the Gipsies are very prolific, 
and become invigorated by a mixture of the white blood ; 
under the cover of which they gradually leave the tent, and 
scatter themselves over and through society, enter into the 
various pursuits common to the ordinary natives, and be- 
come lost to the observation of the rest of the population. 

The peculiar feeling that is entertained for what is popu- 
larly understood to be a Gipsy, differs from that which is 
displayed toward the Negro, in that it attaches to his tradi- 
tional character and mode of life alone. The general pre- 
judice against the Negro is, to a certain extent, natural, 
and what any one can realize. If the European has a 
difficulty in appreciating the feeling which is exhibited by 
Americans against the African, in their general intercourse 
of daily life, few Americans can realize the feeling which is 
entertained toward the tented Gipsy. Should such a Gipsy 
be permitted to enter the dwelling of a native, the most he 
■will let him come in contact with will be the chair he will 
give him to sit on, and the dish and spoon out of which he 
will feed him, all of which can again be cleaned. His 
guest will never weary his patience, owing to the embodi- 
ment of restlessness which characterizes his race ; nor will 
his feelings ever be tried by his asking liim for a bed, for 
what the herb commonly called catnip is to the animal some- 
vrhat corresponding to tliat word, a bundle of straw in an 
out-house is to the tented Gipsy. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The new era which the series of splendid works, called 
theWaverley Novels, created in literature, produced, among 
other effects, that of directing attention to that singular 
anomaly in civilization — the existence of a race of men 
scattered over the world, and known, wherever tlie English 
language is spoken, as Gipsies ; a class as distinct, in some 
respects, from the people among whom they live, as the Jews 
at the present day. The first of the series in wliich their 
singular characters, habits, and modes of life were illustrated, 
was that of Guy Mannering ; proving one of the few happy 
instances in which a work of fiction has been found to serve 
the end of specially stirring up the feelings of the human 
mind, in its various phases, toward a subject with which it 
has a common sympathy. The peasant and the farmer at 
once felt attracted by it, from the dread of personal danger 
which they had always entertained for the race, and the un- 
certainty under which they liad lived, for the safety of their 
property from fire and robbery, and the desire which they 
had invariably shown to propitiate them by the payment of 
a species of blackmail, under the form of kind treatment, 
and a manner of hospitality when occasion called for it. 
The work at the same time struck a chord in the religious 
and humane sentiments of others, and the result, but a very 
tardily manifested one, was the springing up of associations 
for their reformation ; with comparatively little success, 
however, for it was found, as a general thing, that while 
some of the race allowed their children, very indifferently, 
even precariously, to attend school, yet to cure them of their 
naturally wandering and other peculiar dispositions, was 
nearly as hopeless as the converting of the American 
Indians to some of the ways of civilized life. That general 
class was also interested, which consist of the more or less 

(55) 



56 INTllODUGTION. 

educated, moral, or refined, to whom anytliing exciting 
comes with relish. To tlie historical student, the subject 
was fraught with matter for curious investigation, owing to 
the race having been ignored, for a length of time, as being 
in no respect different from a class to be found in all coun- 
tries ; and, whatever their origin, as liaving had their 
nationality extinguished in that general process which has 
been found to level every distinction of race in our country. 
The antiquary and philologist, in their respective pursuits, 
found also a sphere which they were unlikely to leave unex- 
plored, considering that they are often so untiring in their 
researches in such matters as sometimes to draw upon tliem- 
selves a smile from the rest of mankind : and while the 
latter was thinking that he had exhausted the languages of 
his native land, and was contemplating otliers elsewhere, he 
struck accidentally upon a mine under liis feet, and at once 
turned up a specimen of virgin ore ; coming all the more 
acceptably to him, from those in possession of it keeping it 
as secret as if their existence depended on its being con- 
cealed from others around them. All, indeed, but especially 
those brought up in rural places, knew from childhood more 
or less of the Gipsies, and dreaded them by day or night, 
in frequented or in lonely places, knowing well that, if 
insulted, they would threaten vengeance, if they could not 
execute it then ; which they in no way doubted, with the 
terror of doomed men. 

Among others, I felt interested in the subject, from having 
been brought up in the pastoral district of Tweed-dale, the 
resort of many Gipsies, who were treated with great favour 
by the inhabitants, for many reasons, the most important 
of which were the desire of securing tlieir good-will, for 
their own benefit, and the use which they w^ere to them in 
selling them articles in request, and the various mechanical 
turns which they possessed ; and often from tlie natural 
generosity of people so circumstanced. My curiosity was 
excited, and having various sources of information at com- 
mand, I proceeded to write a few short articles for Black- 
wood's Magazine, which were well received, as the follow- 
ing letters from Mr. William Blackwood will show : 

" I now send a proof of No. 2 Gipsy article. I hope you 
are pleased, and will return it with your corrections on 
Monday or Tuesday. We shall be glad to hear you are 



INTRODUCTION. 57 

goiiig on with the continuation, for I assure you your former 
article has been as popular as anything almost we ever had 
in the magazine." 

Again, 

" Your magazine was sent this morning by the coach, but 
I had not time to write you last night. Mr. Walter Scott 
is quite delighted with the Gipsies." 

Again, 

" I am this moment favoured with your interesting packet. 
Your Gipsies, from the slight glance I have given them, 
seem to be as amusing as ever." 

And again, 

" It was not in my power to get your number sent off. It 
is a very interesting one. You will be much pleased with 
Mr. Scott's little article on Buckhaven, in which he pays 
you some very just compliments."* 

At the same time I was much encouraged, by the autlior 
of Guy Mannering, to prosecute my enquiries, by receiving 
several communications from him, and conversing with him 
at Abbotsford, on the subject. 

* The following is the article alluded to: "The following enquiries are 
addressed to the author of the Gipsies in Fife, being suggested by the re- 
search and industry which he has displayed in collecting memorials of that 
vagrant race. They relate to a chiss of persons who, distinguished for 
honest industry in a laborious and dangerous calling, have only this in 
common with the Egyptian tribes, that they are not originally native of the 
country which they inhabit, and are supposed still to exhibit traces of a 

foreign origin I mean the colony of fishermen in the village of 

Buckhaven, in Fife 

" I make no apology to your respectable correspondent for engaging him 
in so troublesome a research". The local antiquary, of all others, ought, in 
the zeal of his calling, to feel the force of what Spencer wrote and Burke 
quoted: * Love esteems no office mean.' — 'Entire affection scorneth nicer 
hands.' The curious collector who seeks for ancient reliques among the 
ruins of ancient Rome, often paj's for permission to trench or dig over 
some particular piece of giound, in hopes to discover some remnant of 
antiquity. Sometimes he gets only his labour, and the ridicule of hav- 
ing wasted it, to pay for his pains; sometimes he finds but old bricks 
and shattered pot-sherds ; but sometimes also his toil is rewarded by a 
valuable medal, cameo, bronze, or statue. And upon the same principle it 
is. by investigating and comparing popular customs, often trivial and fool- 
ish in themselves, that we often arrive at the means of establishing curioud 
and material facts in history." 

This extract is given for the benefit of the latter part of it, which applies 
admirably to the present subject; yet falls as nmch short of it as tho 
interest in the history of an Egyptian mummy falls short of that of a living 
and universally scattered race, that appears a riddle to our comprehension. 

3* 



58 INTRODUCTION. 

I received a letter from Sir Walter, in which he says : 
" This letter has been by me many weeks, waiting for a 
frank, and besides, our mutual friend, Mr. Laidlaw, under 
whose charge my agricultural operations are now proceeding 
in great style, gave me some hope of seeing you in this 
part of the country. I should like much to have asked you 
some questions about the Gipsies, and particularly that great 
mystery — their language. I cannot determine, in my own 
mind, whether it is likely to prove really a corrupt eastern 
dialect, or whether it has degenerated into mere jargon." 

About the same time I received the following letter from 
Mr. William Laidlaw, the particular friend of Sir Walter 
Scott, and manager of his estate at Abbotsford, as men- 
tioned in the foregoing letter ; the author of " Lucy's Flittin," 
and a contributor to Blackwood : 

"I was very seriously disappointed at not seeing you 
when you were in this (part of the) country, and so was no 
less a person than the mighty minstrel himself. He charged 
me to let him know whenever you arrived, for he was very 
anxious to see you. What would it be to you to take the 
coach, and three days before you, and again see your father 
and mother, come here on an evening, and call on Mr. Scott 
next day? We would then get you full information upon 
the science of defence in all its departments. QuarterstaJGf 
is now little practised ; but it was a sort of legerdemain 
way of fighting that I never had mucMe hroo of, although I 
know somewhat of the method. It was a most unfortunate 
and stupid trick of the man to blow you up with your kittle 
acquaintances. I hope they will forgive and forget. I am 
very much interested about the language (Gipsy). Mr. 
Scott has repeatedly said, that whatever you hear or see, you 
should never let on to naehody, no doubt excepting himself. 
Be sure and come well provided with specimens of the 
vocables, as he says he might perhaps have it in his power 
to assist you in your enquiries." 

Shortly after this. Sir Walter wrote me as follows : 
" The inclosed letter has long been written. I only now 
send it to show that I have not been ungrateful, though late 
in expressing my thanks. The progress you liave been able 
to make in the Gipsy language is most extremely interesting. 
My acquaintance with most European languages, and with 
slang words and expressions, enables me to say positively, 



INTRODUGTIOK 69 

tliat the Gipsy words you have collected liave no reference 
to eitlier, witli tlie exception of three or foiir.^^ I have 
little doubt, from the sound and appearance, that tliey are 
Oriental, probably Hindostanee. When I go to Edinburgh, 
I shall endeavour to find a copy of Grellmann, to compare 
the language of the German Gipsies with that of the Scot- 
tish tribes. As you have already done so much, I pray you 
to proceed in your enquiries, but by no means to make any- 
thing public, as it miglit spread a premature alarm, and 
obstruct your future enquiries. It would be important 
to get the same words from different individuals ; and in 
order to verify the collection, I would recommend you to 
set down the names of the persons by whom they were com- 
municated. It would be important to know whether they 
have a real language, with the usual parts of speech, or 
whether they have a collection of nouns, combined by our own 
language. I suspect the former to be the case, from the 
specimens I have had. I should like much to see the article 
you proposed for the magazine. I am not squeamish about 
delicacies, where knowledge is to be sifted out and acquired. 
I like Ebony'st idea of a history of tlie Gipsies very much, 
and I wish you would undertake it. I gave all my scraps 
to the magazine at its commencement, but 1 tliink myself 
entitled to -say that you are welcome to the use of them, 
should you choose to incorporate them into such a work. 
Do not be in too great a hurry, but get as many materials 
as you can. "if 

And again as follows : 

"An authentic list of Gipsy words, as used in Scotland, 
especially if in such numbers as may afford any reasonable 

* I sent him a specimen of forty-six words. [Many words used in Scot- 
land, in every day life, are evidontl}'' derived from the Gipsy, owing, doubt- 
less, to the singularity of the people who have used them, or the happy 
peculiarity of circumstances under which they have been uttered; the 
original cause of such passing current in a language, no less than that 
degree of personal authority' which sometimes occasions them to be adopted. 
Randy, a disreputable word for a bold, scolding, and not over nicely worded 
woman, is evidently derived from the Gipsy ramiie, the chief of a tribe of 
viragos; sotliat the exceptions spoken of are as likely to have been derived 
from the Gipsy as vice versa. — Ed.] 

f The name by which Mr. Blackwood waa known in the celebrated 
Chaldee manuscript, published in his magazine. 

:J: Previous to this, Mr. Blackwood wrote me aa follows: " I received 
yo'ir packet some djiys ago, and immediately gave it to the editor. Ilo 



60 INTRODUCTION. 

or probable conjecture as to the structure of the language, 
is a desideratum in Scottisli literature which would be very 
acceptable to the philologist, as well as an addition to gen- 
eral history. I am not aware that any such exists, though 
there is a German publication on the subject, which it would 
be very necessary to consult.* That the language exists, I 
have no doubt, though I should rather think the number to 
which it is known is somewhat exaggerated. I need not 
point out to you the difference between the ca7it language, 
or slang, used by thieves or flash men in general, and the 
peculiar dialect said to be spoken by the Gipsies.f The 
difference ought to be very carefully noticed, to ascertain 
what sort of language they exactly talk ; whether it is an 
original tongue, having its own mode of construction, or a 
speech made up of cant expressions, having- an English or 
Scotch ground-work, and only patched up so as to be unin- 
telligible to the common hearer. There is nothing else 
occurs to me by whicli I can be of service to your enquiry. 
My own opinion leads me to think that the Gipsies have a 
distinct and proper language, but I do not consider it is 
extensive enough to form any settled conclusion. If there 
occur any facts which I can be supposed to know, on which 
you desire information, I will be willing to give them, in 
illustration of so curious an enquiry. I have found them, in 
general, civil and amenable to reason ; I must, nevertheless, 
add that they are vindictive, and that, as the knowledge 
of their language is the secret which their habits and igno- 
rance make them tenacious of, I think your researches, 
unless conducted with great prudence, may possibly expose 
you to personal danger. For the same reason, you ouglit 
to complete all the information you can collect, before 
alarming them by a premature publication, as, after you 

desires me to say that your No. 5, though very curious, would not answer, 
from the nature of tlie details, to be printed in the magazine. In a regular 
history of the Gipsies, they would, of course, find a place.' This was what 
suggested the idea of the present work. 

* Grellmann. I am not aware that he ever compared the words T sent 
him with those in this publication, as he wrote he would do, in the pre- 
vious letter quoted. 

f Throughout the whole of his works there does not appear, I believe, a 
single word of the proper Scottish Gipsj^ ; although slang and cant expres- 
sions are to be found in considerable numbers. [Some of tliese are of 
Gipsy extraction. — Ed.] 



INTRODUCTION. 61 

have published, there will be great obstructions to future 
communications on the subject." 

From what has been said, it will be seen that the follow- 
ing investigation has had quite a different object than a 
description of the manners and habits of the common vagrants 
of the country ; for no possible entertainment could have 
been derived from such an undignified undertaking. And 
yet many of our youth, although otherwise well informed, 
have never made this distinction ; owing, no doubt, to the 
increased attention which those in power have, in late years, 
bestowed on the internal affairs of the country, and the 
unseen, but no less surely felt, pressure of the advance- 
ment of the general mass, and especially of the lower classes 
of the community, forcing many of these people into posi- 
tions beyond the observation of those unacquainted with 
their language and traits of character. When it is, there- 
fore, considered, that tlie body treated of, is originally an 
exotic, comprising, I am satisfied, no less than five thousand 
souls in Scotland,"^ speaking an original and peculiar lan- 
guage, wliich is mysteriously used among themselves with 
great secrecy, and differing so widely from the ordinary na- 
tives of the soil, it may well claim some little portion of public 
attention. A further importance attaches to the subject, 
wlien it is considered that a proportionate number is to be 
found in the other divisions of the British Isles, and large 
hordes in all parts of Europe, and more or less in every 
other part of the world ; in all places speaking tlie same 
language, with only a slight difference in dialect, and mani- 
festing the same peculiarities. In using the language of Dr. 
Bright, it may be said, that the circumstance is the most 
singular phenomenon in the history of man ; much more 
striking, indeed, than that of the Jews. For the Jews have 
been favoured with the most splendid antecedents ; a com- 
mon parentage ; a common liistory ; a special and exclusive 
revelation ; a deeply rooted religious ])rojudice, and anti- 
pathy ; a common persecution : and wliatever miglit apprar 
necessary to preserve their identity in the world, excepting 
an isolated territorial and political existence.'!' The Gii)sies, 

* There cannot be less than 100,000 Gipsies in Scotland. See Disquisi- 
tion on the (iipsies. — Ed. 

f The following is a description of the Jews, throuj^hout the world, as 
given by them, in their letters to Voltaire : " A Jew in London bears as 



62 INTRODUCTION. 

on the other hand, have had none of these advantages. But 
it is certain that the leaders of their bands, in addition to 
their piteous representations, must have had something strik- 
ing about them, to recommend them to the favourable notice 
which they seem to have met "with, at the hands of some of 
the sovereigns of Europe, when they made their appearance 
there, and spread over its surface. Still, their assumptions 
might, and in all probability did, rest merely upon an amount 
of general superiority of character, of a particular kind, 
without even the first elements of education, which in that 
age would amount to something ; a leading feature of cha- 
racter which their chiefs have ever since maintained ; and 
yet, although everything has been left by them to tradition, 
the Gipsies speak their language much better than the Jews. 
Gipsies and Jews have many things in common. They 
are both strangers and sojourners, in a sense, wherever they 
are to be found ; " dwelling in tents," the one literally, the 
other figuratively. They have each undergone many bloody 
persecutions ; the one for his stubborn blindness to the ad- 
vent of the Messiali, the other for being a heatlien, and 
worse than a heathen — for being nothing at all, but linked 
with the evil one, in all manner of witchcraft and sin. 
Each race has had many crimes brought against it ; the 
Gipsy, those of a positive, and the Jew, those of a con- 
structive and arbitrary nature. But in these respects they 
difi'er : the Jew has been known and famed for doing almost 
anything for money ; and the Gipsy for the mere gratifica- 
tion of his most innate nature — that of appropriating to 
himself, when he needs it, that which is claimed by any out 
of the circle of his consanguinity. The one's soul is given 
to accumulating, and, if it is in his power, he becomes rich ; 
the other more commonly aims at securing what meets his 
ordinary wants, and, perhaps, some little tiling additional ; 

little resemblance to a Jew at Constantinople, as this last resembles a 
Chinese Mandarin ! A Portuguese Jew, of Bordeaux, and a German Jew, 
of Metz, appear two beings of a different nature ! It is, therefore, im pos- 
sible to speak of the manners of the Jews in general, without entering into a 
very long detail, and into particular distinctions. The Jew is a chanielion, 
that assumes all the colouis of the different climates he inhabits, of the 
different people he frequents, and of the different governments under which 
he lives." 

These words are much more applicable to the Gipsy tribe, in consequence 
of their drawing into their body the blood of other people. — Ed. 



INTRODUCTION. 63 

or, if he prove otlierwise, he liberally spends what he ac- 
quires. The Gipsy is humane to a stranger, when he has 
been rightly appealed to ; but when that circumstance is 
wanting, he will never hesitate to rob him, unless when he 
stands indebted to him, or, it may be, his immediate relations, 
for previous acts of kindness. To indulge his hatred to- 
wards an enemy, a Jew will oppress him, if he is his debtor, 
" exacting his bond ;" or if he is not his debtor, he will often 
endeavour to get him to become such, with the same motive ; 
or it may be, if his enemy stands in need of accommodation, 
he will not supply his wants ; at other times, if he is poor, 
he will ostentatiously make a display of his wealth, to spite 
him ; and, in carrying out his vengeance, will sometimes dis- 
play the malignity, barring, perhaps, the shedding of blood, 
of almost every other race combined. In such a case, a 
Gipsy will rob, burn, maltreat, maim, carry off a child, and 
sometimes murder, but not often the two last at the pre- 
sent day.* The two races are to be found side by side, in 
countries characterized by almost every degree of climate 
and stage of civilization, each displaying its peculiar type of 
feature, but differing in this respect, that the Gipsies read- 
ily adopt others into their tribe, at such a tender age as to 
secure an infallible attachment to their race and habits. 
This circumstance has produced, in many instances, a change 
in the colour of the hair and eyes of the descendants of 
those adopted. In some such cases, it requires an intimate 
knowledge of the body, to detect the peculiarity common to 
all, and especially in those who have conformed to the ways 
of the other inhabitants. In this they agree — that they des- 
pise and hate, and are despised and hated by, those among 
whom they live. But in this they differ — that the Jew en- 
tered Europe, as it were, singly and by stealth, pursuing 
pretty nmcli the avocations he yet follows ; but the Gipsies, 
in bands, and openly, although they were forced to betake 
themselves to places of rotreat, and break up into smaller 
bands. It is true that the Jew was driven from his home 
eigliteen centuries ago, and that it is not yet five since the 
Gipsy appeared in Europe. We know who the Jew is, and 
something of the providence and circumstances under which 
he suffers, and what future awaits him ; but who is this sin- 

* This, I need hardly saj', is a description of what may be called a vild 
Gipsy. — Ed. 



64 INTRODUCTIOK 

gular and unfortunate exile, whose origin and cause of ban- 
ishment none can comprehend — who is this wandering Gipsy ? 

After the receipt of the second of Sir Walter Scott's 
letters, already alluded to, I discontinued the few short arti- 
cles I had written for Blackwood, on the Fifeshire Gipsies ; 
but I have incorporated the most interesting part of tliem 
into the work, forming, however, only a small part of the 
whole. Since it was written, I have seen Mr. Borrow on 
the Gipsies in Spain, and the short report of tlie Rev. Mr. 
Baird, to the Scottish Church Society ; the latter printed in 
1840, and the former in 1841. The Gitanos in Spain and 
the Tinklers in Scotland are, in almost every particular, i\\Q 
same people, while the Yetholm Gipsy words in Mr. Baird's 
report and those collected by me, for the most part, between 
the years 1817 and 1831, are word for word the same. 

In submitting this work to the public, I deem it necessary 
to say a word or two as to the authorities upon which the 
facts contained in it rest. My authorities for those under 
the heads of Fife and Linlithgowshire Gipsies, were aged and 
creditable persons, who had been eye-witnesses to the greater 
part of the transactions ; in some cases, the particulars were 
quite current in their time. The details under the head of 
Gipsies who frequented Tweed-dale, Ettrick Forest, xVnnan- 
dale, and the upper ward of Lanarkshii-e, were chiefly de- 
rived from the memories of some of my relatives, and other 
individuals of credit, who had many opportunities of observ- 
ing the manners of these wanderers, in the South of Scotland, 
the greater number being confirmed by the Gipsies, on being 
interrogated. The particulars under the head of the cere- 
monies of marriage and divorce, and the sacrifice of horses, 
were related by Gipsies, and confirmed by other undoubted 
testimony, as will appear in detail. Almost every recent 
occurrence and matter relative to the present condition, 
employment, and number of the body, is the result of my own 
personal enquiries and observations, while the whole speci- 
mens of the language, and the facts immediately connected 
therewith, were written down, with my own hand, from the 
mouths of the Gipsies themselves, and confirmed, at intervals, 
by others. Indeed, my chief object has been to produce facts 
from an original source, in Scotland, as far as respects man- 
ners, customs, and language, for the purpose of ascertaining 
the origin of this mysterious race, and the country from 



INTRODUGTIOK 65 

wliicli they have migrated ; and the result, to my mind, is a 
complete confirmation of Grellmann, Hoyland, and Bright, 
that they are from Hindostan. 

In writing the history of any barbarous race, if history it 
can be called, the field for our observation must necessarily 
be very limited. This may especially be said of a people 
like tlie Gipsies ; for, having, as a people, neither literature, 
records, nor education,* all that can be drawn together of 
their history, from themselves, must be confined to that of 
tlie present, or of such time as the freshness of their tradi- 
tion may suffice to illustrate ; unless it be a few precarious 
notices of them, that may have been elicited from their having 
come, it may be, in violent contact with their civilized neigh- 
bours around them. In attempting such a work, in connection 
witli so singular a people, the difficulties in the way of suc- 
ceeding in it are extraordinarily great, as the reader may 
have perceived, from what has already been written, and as 
the " blowing up," alluded to in Mr. Laidlaw's letter, will 
illustrate, and which was as follows : 

I had obtained some of the Gipsy language from a prin- 
cipal family of the tribe, on condition of not publishing 
names, or place of residence ; and, at many miles' distance, I 
bad also obtained some particulars relative to the customs 
and manners of the race, from a highly respectable farmer, 
in the south of Scotland. At his farm, the family alluded 
to always took up their quarters, in their periodical journeys 
through the country. The farmer, without ever thinking of 
the consequences, told them that I was collecting materials 
for a publication on the Tinklers, in Scotland, and that every- 
thing relative to their tribe would be given to the world. 
The aged chief of the family was thrown into the greatest 
distress, at the idea of the name and residence of himself 
and family being made public. I received a letter from the 
family, deeply lamenting that they had ever communicated a 
word to me relative to their language, and stating that the old 
man was like to break his heart, at his own imprudence, being 
in agony at the thought of his language being published to the 
world. I assured them, however, that they had no cause for 
fear, as I had never so much as mentioned their names to 

* There are, comparatively speakinp, few Gipsies in Scotland that have 
not some education, in common with the ordinary natives of the soil ; but 
the same cannot be said of England. — Ed. 



66 INTRODUCTION. 

their friend, the farmer, and that I would strictly adhere to 
the promise I had given them. This was one of the many 
instances in which I was obstructed in my labours, for, how- 
ever cautious I might personally be, others, who became in 
some way or other acquainted with my object, were, from 
inconsiderate meddling, the cause of many difficulties being 
thrown in my way, and the consequent loss of much interest- 
ing information. But for this unfortunate circumstance, I 
am sanguine, from the method I took in managing the Gip- 
sies, I would have been able to collect songs and sentences 
in their language, and much more information than what 
has been procured, at whatever value the reader may es- 
timate that ; for the Gipsies are always more or less in com- 
munication with each other, in their various divisions of the 
country, especially when threatened with anything deemed 
dangerous, which they circulate among themselves with as- 
tonishing celerity. 

Professor Wilson, in a poetical notice of Blackwood's 
Magazine, writes : 

" Few things more sweetly vary civil life 
Than a barbarian, savage Tinkler tale ; 
Our friend, who on the Gipsies writes in Fife, 
We verily believe promotes our sale." 

And, in revising his works, in 1831, Sir Walter Scott, in a 
note to Quentin Durward, says, relative to the present work : 
" It is natural to suppose, the band, (Gipsy), as it now 
exists, is much mingled with Europeans ; but most of these 
have been brought up from childhood among them, and 
learned all their practices. . . . When they are in 
closest contact with the ordinary peasants around tliem, they 
still keep their language a mystery. There is little doubt, 
however, that it is a dialect of the Hindostanee, from the 
specimens produced by Grellmann, Hoyland, and others who 
have written on the subject. But the author, (continues Sir 
Walter,) has, besides their authority, personal occasion to 
know, that an individual, out of mere curiosity, and availing 
himself, with patience and assiduity, of such opportunities as 
offered, has made himself capable of conversing with any 
Gipsy whom he meets, or can, like the royal Hal, drink 
with any tinker, in his own language.* The astonishment 

* Allowance must be made for the enthusiasm of the novelist. 



introduction: 67 

excited among these vagrants, on finding a stranger parti- 
cipant of their mystery, occasions very ludicrous scenes. It 
is to be hoped this gentleman will publish the knowledge he 
possesses on so singular a topic. There are prudential 
reasons for postponing this disclosure at present, for, al- 
though much more reconciled to society since they have 
been less the objects of legal persecution, the Gipsies are 
still a ferocious and vindictive people."* 

* Abbotsford, Ist Dec, 1831. 



CHAPTER I. 

CONTINENTAL GIPSIES. 

Before giving an account of the Gipsies in Scotland, I 
shall, by way of introduction, briefly notice the periods of 
time at which they were observed in the different states on 
the continent of Europe, and point out the different periods 
at which their governments found it necessary to expel them 
from their respective territories. I shall also add a few 
facts illustrative of the manners of the continental tribes, for 
the purpose of showing that those in Scotland, England, and 
Ireland, are all branches of the same stock. I shall, like- 
wise, add a few facts illustrative of the tribe who found 
their way into England. I am indebted for my information 
on the early history of the continental Gipsies, chiefly to 
the works of Grellraann, Hoyland and Bright. 

It appears that none of these wanderers had been seen in 
Christendom before the year 1400.'^ But, in the beginning 
of the fifteenth century, this people first attracted notice, 
and, within a few years after their arrival, had spread them- 
selves over the whole continent. The earliest mention 
which is made of them, was in the years 1414 and 1417, 
when they were observed in Germany. In 1418, they were 
found in Switzerland ; in 1422, in Italy ; in 1427, they are 
mentioned as being in the neighbourhood of Paris ; and 
about the same time, in Spain. f 

They seem to have received various appellations. In 
France, they were called Bohemians ; in Holland, Heydens 
— heathens ; in some parts of Germany, and in Sweden and 
Denmark, they were thought to be Tartars ; but over Ger- 
many, in general, they were called Zige,uners, a word which 
means wanderers up and down. In Portugal, they received 

• Sir Thomas Brown's vulgar errors, f Bright's travels in Hungary. 

(69) 



70 A HIS TOUT OF THE GIPSIES, 

the name of Siganos ; in Spain, Gitanos ; and in Italy, (7m- 
(/aW. They were also called in Italy, Hungary, and Ger- 
many, Tziganys ; and in Transylvania, Cyganis. Among 
the Turks, and other eastern nations, they were denominated 
Tschingenes ; but the Moors and Arabians applied to them, 
perhaps, the most just appellation of any — Charami^ rob- 
bers."^ 

" When they arrived at Paris, 17th August, 1427, nearly 
all of them had their ears bored, with one or two silver rings 
in each, which, they said, were esteemed ornaments in their 
country. The men were black, their hair curled ; the wo- 
men remarkably black, and all their faces scarred."t Dr. 
Hurd, in his account of the different religions of the world, 
says, that the hair of these men was " frizzled," and that 
some of the women were witches, and "had hair like a 
horse's tail." It is, I think, to be inferred from this passage, 
that the men had designedly curled their hair, and that the 
hair of the females was long and coarse — not the short, woolly 
hair of the African. I have, myself, seen English female 
Gipsies with hair as long, coarse, and thick as a black 
horse's tail. 

" At the time of the first appearance of the Gipsies, no 
certain information seems to have been obtained as to the 
country from which they came. It is, however, supposed 
that they entered Europe in the south-east, probably through 
Transylvania. At first, they represented themselves as 
Egyptian pilgrims, and, under that character, obtained con- 
siderable respect during half a century ; being favoured by 
different potentates with passports, and letters of security. 
Gradually, however, they really became, or were fancied, 
troublesome, and Italy, Sweden, Denmark and Germany, 
successively attempted their expulsion, in the sixteenth cen- 

tury.^t 

' With the exception of Hungary and Transylvania, it is 
believed that every state in Europe attempted either their 
expulsion or extermination ; but, notwithstanding the dread- 
ful severity of the numerous laws and edicts promulgated 
against them, they remained in every part of Europe, in 
defiance of every effort made by their respective govern 
ments to get rid of their unwelcome guests. 

* Iloyland's historical survey of the Gipsies, f Ibid. \ Bright. 



CONTINENTAL GIPSIES. 71 

" German writers say that King Ferdinand of Spain, who 
esteemed it a good work to expatriate useful and profitable 
subjects — Jews, and even Moorish families — could much less 
be guilty of an impropriety, in laying hands on the mischiev- 
ous progeny of Gipsies. The edict for tlieir extermination 
was published in the year 1492. But, instead of passing the 
boundaries, they only slunk into hiding places, and shortly 
after appeared in as great numbers as before. The Emperor, 
Cliarles Y, persecuted them afresh ; as did Philip II. Since 
that time, they nestled in again, and were threatened with 
another storm, but it blew over without taking effect. 

" In France, Francis I passed an edict for their expul- 
sion, and at the assembly of the states of Orleans, in 1561, 
all governors of cities received orders to drive them out 
with fire and sword. Nevertheless, in process of time, they 
collected again, and increased to such a degree that, in 1612, 
a new order came out for th<#ir extermination. In the year 
1572, they were compelled to retire from the territories of 
Milan and Parma i and, at a period somewhat earlier, they 
were chased beyond the Venetian jurisdiction. 

" They were not allowed the privilege of remaining in 
Denmark, as the code of Danish law specifies : * The Tartar 
(bripsies, who wander about everywhere, doing great damage 
to the people, by their lies, thefts and witchcraft, shall be 
taken into custody by every magistrate.^ Sweden was not 
more favourable, having attacked them at three different 
times. A very sharp order for their expulsion came out in 
1662. The diet of 1723 published a second ; and that of 
1727 repeated the foregoing, with additional severity. 

" They were excluded from the Netherlands, under the 
pain of death, by Charles V, and afterwards, by the United 
States, in 1582. But the greatest number of sentences of 
exile have been pronounced against them in Germany. The 
beginning was made under Maximilian I, at the Augsburg 
Diet, in 1500 ; and the same business occupied the attention 
of the Diet in 1530, 1544, 1548, and 1551 ; and was also 
again enforced, in the improved police regulations of Frank- 
fort, in 1577."* The Germans entertained the notion that 
the Gipsies were spies for the Turks. They were not allowed 
to pass through, remain, or trade within the Empire. Tliey 
were ordered to quit entirely tlie German dominions, by a 

* lloylaud. 



V3 A niSTOUY OF TEE QIPSIES. 

certain day, and whoever injured them, after that period, was 
considered to have committed no crime. 

" But a general extermination never did happen, for the 
law banishing them passed in one state before it was 
thought of in the next, or when a like order had long become 
obsolete, and sunk into oblivion. These undesirable guests 
were, therefore, merely compelled to shift their quarters to 
an adjoining state, where they remained till the government 
began to clear them away, upon which the fugitives either 
retired whence they came, or went on progressively to a 
third place — thus making a continual circle."* 

That almost the whole of Christendom had been so pro- 
voked by the conduct of the Gipsies as to have attempted 
their expulsion, or rather their extermination, merely because 
they were jugglers, fortune-tellers, astrologers, warlocks, 
witches and impostors, is a thing not for a moment to be 
supposed. I am inclined to believe that the true cause of 
the promulgation of the excessively sanguinary laws and 
edicts, for the extermination of the whole Gipsy nation in 
Europe, must be looked for in much niore serious crimes 
than those mentioned ; and that these greater offences can 
be no other than theft and robbery, and living upon the 
inhabitants of the countries through which they travelled, 
at free quarters, or what we, in Scotland, call sorning.f 
But, on the other hand, I am convinced that the Gipsies 
have committed few murders on individuals out of their own 
tribe. As far as our authorities go, the general character 
of these people seems to have been the same, wherever they 
have made their appearance on the face of, the earth ; and 
the chief and leading feature of that extraordinary charac- 
ter appears to me to have been, in general, an hereditary 
propensity to theft and robbery, in men, women and children. 

In whatever country we find the Gipsies, their manners, 
habits, and cast of features are uniformly the same. Their 
occupations are in every respect the same. They were, on 

* Grellmann, 

f Dr. Hiird says, at page 785, "Our over credulous ancestors vainly im- 
agined that those Gipsies or Bohemians were so many spies for the Turks ; 
and that, in order to expiate the crimes which they had committed in their 
own country, i\\Qj were condemned to steal from and I'ob the Christian^. " 

[Living at free quarters by force, or masterful begging, or " sorning," is 
surely a trifling, though troublesome, oftence for the original condition of 
a wandering tribe, which has so progressed as, at the present day, to fiU 
some of tlie first positions in Scotland. — Ed.j 



CONTINENTAL GIPSIES. 73 

the continent, horse-dealers, innkeepers, workers in iron, 
musicians, astrologers, jugglers, and fortune-tellers by palm- 
istry. They are also accused of cheating, lying, and witch- 
craft, and, in general, charged with being thieves and rob- 
bers. They roam up and down the country, without any 
fixed habitations, living in tents, and hawking small trifles 
of merchandise for the use of the people among whom they 
travel. The whole race were great frequenters of fairs. 
They seldom formed matrimonial alliances out of their own 
tribe."^ It will be seen, in another part of this work, that 
tlie language of the continental Gipsies is the same as that 
of those in Scotland, England and Ireland. As to the 
religious opinions of the continental Gipsies, they appear to 
have had none at all. It is said they were " worse than 
heathens." " It is, in reality," says Twiss, " almost absurd 
to talk of the religion of this set of people, whose moral 
characters are so depraved as to make it evident they be- 
lieve in nothing capable of being a check to their passions." 
" Indeed," adds Hoyland, " it is asserted that no Gipsy has 
any idea of submission to any fixed profession of faith." It 
appears to me that, to secure to themselves protection from 
the different governments, they only conformed outwardly 
to the customs and religion of the country in which they 
happened to reside at the time. 

Cantemir, according to Grellmann, says that the Gipsies 
are dispersed all over Moldavia, where every baron has 
several families subject to him. In Wallachia and the 
Sclavonian countries they are quite as numerous. In Wal- 
lachia and Moldavia they are divided into two classes — the 
princely and boyardish. The former, according to Sulzer, 
amount to many thousands ; but that is triflng in comparison 
with the latter, as there is not a single Boyard in Wallachia 
who has not at least three or four of them for slaves ; tlie 
rich have often some hundreds under their command.f Grell- 

* Hoj'land. 

f In the narrative of the Scottish Church Mission of Enquiry to the 
Jews, in 1809, are to be found the following remarks relative to the Gipsies 
of Wallachia: 

" They are almost all slaves, bought and sold at pleasure. One was 
lately sold fur 200 piastres, but the general price is 600. Perhaps £3 is 
the average price, and the female Gipsies are sold much cheaper. The sale 
is generally carried on by private bargain. The men are the bist me- 
olianics in the country ; so tliat smiths and masons are taken from this 
class. The women are considered the best cooks, and therefore almost 

4 



74 A BISTORT OF TEE GIPSIES. 

mann divides those in Transylvania into four classes : 1st, 
city Gipsies, who are the most civilized of all, and maintain 
themselves by music, smith-work, selling old clothes, horse- 
dealing, &c. ; 2d. gold-washers ; 3d. tent Gipsies ; and 4th. 
Egyptian Gipsies. These last are more filthy, and more 
addicted to stealing than any of the others. Those who 
are gold-washers, in Transylvania and the Banat, have no 
intercourse with others of their nation ; nor do they like to 
be called Gipsies. They sift gold sand in summer, and in 
winter make trays and troughs, which they sell in an honest 
way. They seldom beg, and more rarely steal. Dr. Clarke 
says of the Wallachian Gipsies, that they are not an idle 
race; they ought rather to be described as a laborious 
race ; and the majority honestly endeavour to earn a liveli- 
hood. 

every wealthy family has a Gipsy cook. Their appearance is similar to 
that of the Gipsies in other countries; being- all dark, with fine black eyes, 
and long black hair. They have a langnai^e peculiar to themselves, and 
though they seem to have no system of religion, yet are ver}' superstitious 
in observing lucky and unlucky days. They are all fond of music, both 
vocal and instrumental, and excel in it. There is a class of them called the 
Turkish Gipsies, who have purchased their freedom from government ; but 
these are few in number, and all from Turkey. Of these latter, there are 
twelve families in Galatz. The men are employed as horse-dealers, and the 
women in making bags, sacks, and such articles. In winter, they live in 
town, almost under ground ; but in summer, they pitch their tents in the 
open air, for, though still within the bounds of the town, they would not 
live in their winter houses during summer." 

That these Gipsies should be in a state of slavery is, perhaps, a more 
marked exception to their race than the Indians in Spanish America were 
to those found in the territories colonized by the Anglo-Saxons. The Em- 
press Maria Theresa could make nothing of the Gipsies in Hungary, where 
they are said to be almost as little looked after as the wolves of the forest ; 
so that the slavery of the Gipsies in Wallachia must be of a very nominal 
or mild nature, or the subjects of it must be far in excess of the demand, 
if £3 is the average price of a good smith or mason, and less for a good 
female cook. These Wallachian Gipsies evidently prefer a master whose 
property they will consider as their own, and whose protection will relieve 
them from the interference and oppression of others. A slavery that is 
not absolute or oppressive must gratify the vanity of the owner, and be 
easily borne by a race that is semi-civilized and despised by others 
around it. 

Since the conclusion of the Russian war, the manumission of the Gipsies 
of the Principalities was debated and carried by a majority of something 
like thirteen against eleven ; but I am not aware of its having been put in 
force. They are said to have been greatly attached to the late Sultan — 
calling him the " good father," for tlie interest he took in them. As spies, 
they rendered his generals efficient services, while contending with the 
Russians on the Danube. — Ed. 



CONTINENTAL GIPSIES. 75 

" Bessarabia, all Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece, and Komania 
swarm with Gipsies ; even in Constantinople they are innu- 
merable. In Romania, a large tract of Mount Haemus, 
which they inhabit, has acquired from them the name of 
TschengJie Valkeii — Gipsy Mountain. This district extends 
from the city of Aydos quite to Phillippopolis, and contains 
more Gipsies than any other province in the Turkish 
empire. 

" They were universally to be found in Italy, insomuch 
that even Sicily and Sardinia were not free. But they were 
most numerous in the dominions of the Church ; probably 
because there was the worst police, with much superstition. 
By the former, they were left undisturbed ; and the latter 
enticed them to deceive the ignorant, as it afforded them an 
opportunity of obtaining a plentiful contribution by their 
fortune-telling and enchanted amulets. There was a general 
law throughout Italy, that no Gipsy should remain more 
than two nights in any one place. By this regulation, it is 
true, no place retained its guests long ; but no sooner was 
one gone than another came in his room : it was a continual 
circle, and quite as convenient to them as a perfect tolera- 
tion would have been. Italy rather suffered than benefited 
by this law ; as, by keeping these people in constant motion, 
tliey would do more mischief there, than in places where 
they were permitted to remain stationary. 

"In Poland and Lithuania, as well as in Courland, there 
are an amazing number of Gipsies. A person may live many 
years in Upper Saxony, or in the districts of Hanover and 
Brunswick, without seeing a single Gipsy. When one 
happens to stray into a village or town, he occasions as 
much disturbance as if the black gentleman with his cloven 
foot appeared ; lie frightens children from their play, and 
draws the attention of the older people, till the police get 
hold of him, and make him again invisible. In some of the 
provinces of the Rhine, a Gipsy is a very common sight. 
Some years ago, there were such numbers of them in the 
Duchy of Wurtemberg, that they were seen lying about every- 
where ; but the government ordered departments of soldiers 
to drive them from their holes and lurking-places throughout 
the country, and then transported the congregated swarm, 
in the same manner as they were treated by tlic Duke of 
Deuxponts. In France, before the Revolution, there were 



76 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

but few Gipsies, for the obvious reason that every Gipsy 
who could be apprehended fell a sacrifice to the 
police."* 

■ As regards the Gipsies of Spain, Dr. Bright remarks : 
That the disposition of the Gitano is more inclined to a 
fixed residence than that of the Gipsy of other countries, is 
beyond doubt. The generality are the settled inhabitants of 
considerable towns, and, although the occupations of some 
necessarily lead them to a more vagrant life, the proportion 
is small who do not consider some hovel in a suburb as a 
home. * Money is in the city — not in the country,* is a saying 
frequently in their mouths. In the vilest quarters of every 
large town of the southern provinces, there are Gitanos liv- 
ing together, sometimes occupying whole barriers. But 
Seville is, perhaps, the spot in which the largest proportion 
is found. Their principal occupation is the manufacture 
and sale of articles of iron. Their quarters may always be 
traced by the ring of the hammer and anvil, and many amass 
considerable wealth. An inferior class have the exclusive 
trade in second-hand articles, which they sell at the doors 
of their dwellings, or at benches at the entrance of towns, or 
by the sides of frequented walks. A still inferior order 
wander about, mending pots, and selling tongs and other 
trifling articles. In Cadiz, they monopolize the trade of 
butchering, and frequently amass wealth. Others^ again, 
exclusively fill the office of Matador of the Bull Plaza, while 
the Tereros are for the most part of the same race. Others 
are employed as dressers of mules and asses ; some as figure- 
dancers, and many as performers in the theatre. Some gain 
a livelihood by their musical talents. Dancing, singing, 
music and fortune-telling are the only objects of general 
pursuit for the females. Sometimes they dance in the infe- 
rior theatres, and sing and dance in the streets. Palmistry 
is one of their most productive avocations. In Seville, a 
few make and sell an inferior kind of mat. Besides these, 
there is a class of Gipsies in Spain who lead a vagrant life 

* Grellmann. — I would suppose that these severe edicts of the French 
would drive the Gipsies to adopt the costume and manners of the other 
inhabitants. In this way they would disappear from the public eye. The 
officers of justice would of course direct their attention to what would be 
understood to be Gipsies— that is tented Gipsies, or those who professed the 
ways of Gipsies, such as fortune telling. 1 have met with a French Gipsy 
in the streets of New York, engaged as a dealer in candj', — Ed. 



CONTINENTAL GIPSIES. 77 

throughout — residing chiefly in the woods and mountains, 
and known as mountaineers. These rarely visit towns, and 
live by fraud and pillage. There are also others who wan- 
der about the country — such as tinkers, dancers, singers, and 
jobbers in asses and mules. 

Bishop Pocoke, prior to 1745, mentions having met with 
Gipsies in the northern part of Syria, where he found them 
in great numbers, passing for Mahommedans, living in tents 
or caravans, dealing in milch cows, when near towns, manu- 
facturing coarse carpets, and having a much better character 
than their relations in Hungary or England. By the census 
of the Crimea, in 1793, the population was set down at 
157,125, of which 3,225 were Gipsies. Bishop Heber states 
that the Persian Gipsies are of much better caste, and much 
richer than those of India, Russia or England. In India, he 
says, the Gipsies are the same tall, fine-limbed, bony, slender 
people, with tlie same large, black, brilliant eyes, lowering 
forehead, and long hair, curled at the extremities, which are 
to be met with on a common in England. He mentions, in 
his journal of travels through Bengal, having met with a 
Gipsy camp on the Ganges. The women and children fol- 
lowed him, begging, and had no clothes on them, except a 
coarse kind of veil, thrown back from the shoulders, and a 
ragged cloth, wrapped round their waists, like a petticoat. 
One of the women was very pretty, and the forms of all the 
three were such as a sculptor would have been glad to take 
as his models. 

Besides those in Europe, it is stated by Grellmann that 
the Gipsies are also scattered over Asia, and are to be found 
in the centre of Africa. In Europe alone, he supposes (in 
1782), their number will amount to between seven and eight 
hundred thousand. So numerous did they become in France, 
that the king, in 1545, sixteen years before they were ex- 
pelled from that kingdom, entertained an idea of embodying 
four thousand of them, to act as pioneers in taking Boulogne, 
then in possession of England. It is impossible to ascertain, 
at tlie present day, how many Gipsies might be even in a 
parish ; but, taking in the whole world, there must be an 
immense number in existence. 

About the time the Gipsies first appeared in Europe, their 
chiefs, under the titles of dukes, carls, lords, counts, and 
knights of Little Egypt, rode up and down the country on 



V8 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

horseback, dressed in gay apparel, and attended bv a train 
of ragged and miserable inferiors, having, also, hawks and 
hounds in their retinue. It appears to me, that the excessive 
vanity of these chiefs had induced them, in imitation of the 
customs of civilized society, to assume these high-sounding 
European titles of honour. I have not observed, on record, 
any form of government, laws or customs, by which the in- 
ternal affairs of the tribe, on the Continent, were regulated. 
On these important points, if I am not mistaken, all the au- 
thors, with the exception of Grellmann, who have written 
on the Gipsies, are silent. Grellmann says of the Hungarian 
Gipsies : " They still continue the custom among themselves 
of dignifying certain persons, whom they make heads over 
them, and call by the exalted Sclavonian title of Waywode. 
To choose their Waywode, the Gipsies take the opportunity, 
when a great number of them are assembled in one place, 
commonly in the open field. The elected person is lifted up 
three times, amidst the loudest acclamation, and confirmed 
in his dignity by presents. His wife undergoes the same 
ceremony. When this solemnity is performed, they separate 
with great conceit, imagining themselves people of more 
consequence than electors returning from the choice of an 
emperor. Every one who is of a family descended from a 
former Waywode is eligible ; but those who are best 
clothed, not very poor, of large stature, and about the middle 
age, have generally the preference. The particular distin- 
guishing mark of dignity is a large whip, hanging over the 
shoulder. His outward deportment, his walk and air, also 
plainly show his head to be filled with notions of authority." 
According to the same authority, the Waywode of the Gip- 
sies in Courland is distinguished from the principals of the 
hordes in other countries, being not only much respected by 
his own people, but even by the Courland nobility. He is 
esteemed a man of high rank, and is frequently to be met 
with at entertainments, and card parties, in the first families, 
where he is always a welcome guest. His dress is uncom- 
monly rich, in comparison with others of his tribe ; generally 
silk in summer, and constantly velvet in winter. 

As a specimen of the manners and ferocious disposition of 
the German Gipsies, so late as the year 1726, 1 shall here 
transcribe a few extracts from an article published in Black- 
wood's Magazine, for January, 1818. This interesting arti- 



CONTINENTAL GIPSIES. V0 

cle is partly an abridged translation, or rather the substance, 
of a German work on the Gripsies, entitled " A Circumstan- 
tial Account of the Famous Egyptian Band of Thieves, and 
Robbers, and Murderers, whose Leaders were executed at 
Giessen, by Cord, and Sword, and Wheel, on the 14th and 
15th November, 1726, <fec." It is edited by Dr. John Ben- 
jamin Wiessenburch, an assessor of the criminal tribunal by 
which these malefactors were condemned, and publisiied at 
Frankfort and Leipsic, in the year 1727. The translator of 
this work is Sii' Walter Scott, who obligingly offered me the 
use of his " scraps" on this subject. The following are the 
details in his own words ; 

"A curious preliminary dissertation records some facts 
respecting tlie German Gipsies, which are not uninteresting. 

" From the authorities collected by Wiessenburch, it ap- 
pears that these wanderers first appeared in Germany dur- 
ing the reign of Sigismund. The exact year lias been 
disputed ;'but it is generally placed betwixt 1416 and 1420. 
They appeared in various bands, under cliiefs, to whom 
they acknowledged obedience, and who assumed the titles 
of dukes and earls. These leaders originally affected a cer- 
tain degree of consequence, travelling well equipped, and on 
horseback, and bringing hawks and hounds in their retinue. 
Like John Faw, ' Lord of Little Egypt,' they sometimes 
succeeded in imposing upon the Germans the belief in their 
very apocryphal dignity, which they assumed during their 
lives, and recorded upon their tombs, as appears from three 
epitaphs, quoted by Dr. Wiessenburch. One is in a convent 
at Steinbach, and records that on St. Sebastians' eve, 1445, 
* died the Lord Pannel, Duke of Little Egypt, and Baron of 
Ilirscliliorn, in the same land.' A monumental inscription 
at Bautmer, records the death of the ' Noble Earl Peter, of 
Lesser Egypt, in 1453 •/ and a third, at Pferz, as late as 
1498, announces the death of tlie ' higli-born. Lord John, 
Earl of Little Egypt, to whose soul God be gracious and 
merciful.' 

" In describing the state of the German Gipsies, in 1726, 
the author whom we are quoting gives the leading features 
proper to those in other countries. Their disposition to 
wandering, to idleness, to theft, to })olygamy, or ratlicr pro- 
miscuous licence, are all commemorated ; nor are the wo- 
men's pretentions to fortune-telling, and their practice of 



80 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

stealing cliildren, omitted. Instead of travelling in very 
large bands, as at their first arrival, they are described as 
forming small parties, in which tlie females are far more 
numerous than the men, and which are each under command 
of a leader, chosen rather from reputation than by right of 
birth. The men, unless when engaged in robbery or theft, 
lead a life of absolute idleness, and are supported by what 
the women can procure by begging, stealing or telling for- 
tunes. These resources are so scanty that they often suffer 
the most severe extremities of hunger and cold. Some of 
the Gipsies executed at Giessen pretended that they had 
not eaten a morsel of bread for four days before they were 
apprehended ; yet are they so much attached to freedom, 
and licence of this wandering life, that, notwithstanding its 
miseries, it has not only been found impossible to reclaim 
the native Gipsies, who claim it by inheritance, but even 
those who, not born in that state, have associated themselves 
with their bands, and become so wedded to it, as to prefer 
it to all others."^ 

" As an exception, Wiessenburch mentions some gangs, 
where the men, as in Scotland, exercise the profession of 
travelling smiths, or tinkers, or deal in pottery, or practise 
as musicians. Finally, he notices that in Hungary the 
gangs assumed their names from the countries which they 
chiefly traversed, as the band of Upper Saxony, of Branden- 
burg, and so forth. They resented, to extremity, any attempt 
on the part of other Gipsies to intrude on their province ; 
and such interference often led to battles, in which they shot 
each other with as little remorse as they would have done 
to dogs.f By these acts of cruelty to each other, they be- 
came gradually familiarized with blood, as well as with 
arms, to which another cause contributed, in the beginning 
of the 18th century. 

" In former times, these outcasts were not permitted to 

* The natives here alluded to were evidently Germans, married to Gipsy 
women, or Germans brought up from infancy with the Gipsies, or mixed 
Gipsies, taking after Germans in point of appearance. — Ed, 

f This is the only continental writer, that I am aware of, who mentions 
the circumstance of the Gipsies having districts to themselves, from which 
others of their race were excluded. This author also speaks of the German 
Gipsies stealing children. John Bunyan admits the same practice in Eng- 
land, when he compares his feelings, as a sinner, to those of a child carried 
off by Gipsies. He gives the Gipsy women credit for this practice. — Ed. 



CONTINENTAL GIPSIES. 81 

bear arms in the service of any Christian power, but the 
long wars of Louis XIV had abolished this point of deli- 
cacy ; and both in the French army, and those of the con- 
federates, the stoutest and boldest of the Gipsies were 
occasionally enlisted, by choice or compulsion. These men 
generally tired soon of the rigour of military discipline, and 
escaping from their regiments, on the first opportunity, went 
back to their forests, with some knowledge of arms, and 
habits bolder and more ferocious than those of their prede- 
cessors. Such deserters soon become leaders among tlie 
tribes, whose enterprises became, in proportion, more auda- 
cious and desperate. 

" In Germany, as in most other kingdoms of Europe, 
severe laws had been directed against this vagabond people, 
and the Landgraves of Hesse had not been behind-hand in 
Buch denunciations. They were, on their arrest, branded 
as vagabonds, punished with stripes, and banished from the 
circle ; and, in case of their return, were put to death with- 
out mercy. These measures only served to make them des- 
perate. Their bands became more strong and more open 
in their depredations. They often marched as strong as 
fifty or a hundred armed men ; bade defiance to the ordi- 
nary police, and plundered the villages in open day ; 
wounded and slew the peasants, who endeavoured to pro- 
tect their property ; and skirmished, in some instances suc- 
cessfully, with parties of soldiers and militia, dispatched 
against them. Their chiefs, on these occasions, were John 
La Fortune, a determined villain, otherwise named Hem- 
perla ; another called tlie Great Gallant ; his brother, 
Antony Alexander, called the Little Gallant ; and others, 
entitled Lorries, Lampert, Gabriel, <fec. Their ferocity 
may be judged of from the following instances : 

" On the 10th October, 1724, a land-lieutenant, or officer 
of police, named Emerander, set off with two assistants to 
disperse a band of Gipsies who had appeared near Hirzen- 
hayn, in the territory of Stolberg. He seized on two or 
three stragglers whom he found in the village, and whom, 
females as well as males, he seems to have treated with 
much severity. Some, however, escaped to a large band 
which lay in an adjacent forest, who, under command of the 
Great Gallant, Hcmpcrla, Antony Alexander, and others, 
immediately put themselves in motion to rescue their coni- 
4* 



82 A HIS TOUT OF THE GIPSIES. 

rades, and avenge themselves of Emerander. The land- 
lieutenant had the courage to ride out to meet them, with 
his two attendants, at the passage of a bridge, where he 
fired his pistol at the advancing gang, and called out 
* charge,' as if he had been at the head of a party of cavalry. 
The Gipsies, however, aware, from the report of the fugi- 
tives, how weakly the officer was accompanied, continued to 
advance to the end of the bridge, and ten or twelve, drop- 
ping each on one knee, gave fire on Emerander, wlio was 
then obliged to turn his horse and ride off, leaving his two 
assistants to the mercy of the banditti. One of these men, 
called Hempel, was instantly beaten down, and suffered, 
especially at the hands of the Gipsy women, much cruel 
and abominable outrage. After stripping him of every rag 
of his clothes, they were about to murder the wretch out- 
right ; but at the earnest instance of the landlord of the 
inn, they contented themselves with beating him dreadfully, 
and imposing on him an oath that he never more would per- 
secute any Gipsy, or save any fleshman, (dealer in human 
flesh,) for so they called the officers of justice or police." 

"The other assistant of Emerander made his escape. 
But the principal was not so fortunate. When the Gipsies 
had wrought their wicked pleasure on Hempel, they com- 
pelled the landlord of the little inn to bring them a flagon 
of brandy, in which they mingled a charge of gunpowder 
and three pinches of salt ; and each, partaking of this sin- 
gular beverage, took a soleain oath that they would stand 
by each other until they had cut thongs, as they expressed 
it, out of the fleshman's hide. The Great Gallant at the 
same time distributed to them, out of a little box, billets, 
wliich each was directed to swallow, and which were sup- 
posed to render them invulnerable. 

" Tlius inflamed and encouraged, the whole route, amount- 
ing to fifty well armed men, besides women armed witli 
clubs and axes, set off with horrid screams to a neighbour- 

* Great allowance ought to be made for the conduct of these Gipsies, 
Even at the present day, a Gipsy, in many parts of Germany, is not 
allowed to enter a town ; nor will the inhabitants permit him to live in the 
street in which they dwell. He has therefore to go somewhere, and live 
in some way or other. In speaking of the Gipsies, people never take 
these circumstances into account. The Gipsies alluded to in the tex 
seem to have been very cruelly treated, in the first place, by the author 
ities — Ed. 



CONTmENTAL GIPSIES, 83 

ing hamlet, called Glazhutte, in which the object of their 
resentment songlit refuge. They took military possession 
of tlie streets, posting sentinels to prevent interruption or 
attack from the alarmed inhabitants. Their leaders tlien 
presented themselves before the inn, and demanded that 
Emerander should be delivered up to them. When the inn- 
keeper endeavoured to elude their demand, they forced their 
way into the house, and finding tlie unhappy object of pur- 
suit concealed in a garret, Hemperla and others fired their 
muskets at him, then tore his clothes from his body, and pre- 
cipitated him down the staircase, where he was dispatclied 
w^ith many wounds. 

" Meanwhile, the inhabitants of the village began to take 
to arms ; and one of them attempted to ring the alarm-bell, 
but was prevented by an armed Gipsy, stationed for that 
purpose. At length their bloody work being ended, the 
Gipsies assembled and retreated out of the town, witli shouts 
of triumph, exclaiming that the fleshman was slain, display- 
ing their spoils and hands stained with blood, and headed 
by the Great Gallant, riding on the horse of the murdered 
oflicer. 

"I sliall Select from the volume another instance of this 
people's cruelty still more detestable, since even vengeance 
or liostility could not be alleged for its stimulating cause, as 
in the foregoing narrative. A country clergyman, named 
Heinsius, the pastor of a village called Dorsdorff, who had 
the misfortune to be accounted a man of some wealth, was 
the subject of this tragedy. 

" Hemperla, already mentioned, with a band of ten Gipsies, 
and a villain named Esspcr George, who had joined himself 
witli them, though not of their nation by birth, beset the 
house of the unfortunate minister, witli a resolution to break 
in and possess themselves of his money ; and if interrupted 
by the peasants, to fire upon them, and repel force by force. 
With this desperate intention, they surrounded the parson- 
age-house at midnight ; and their leader, Hemperla, having 
cut a liole tlu'ough the cover of the sink or gutter, endeavoured 
to creep into the house througli tliat passage, holding in liis 
hand a lighted torch made of straw. The daughter of the 
parson clianced, however, to be up, and in the kitchen, at 
this late hour, by wliich fortunate circumstance she escaped 
the fate of her father and mother. When the Gipsy saw 



84 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

there was a person in the kitchen, he drew himself back out 
of the gutter, and ordered his gang to force the door, re- 
garding the noise which accompanied this violence as little 
as if the place had been situated in a wilderness, instead of 
a populous hamlet. Others of the gang were posted at tlie 
windows of the house, to prevent the escape of the inmates. 
Nevertheless, the young woman, already mentioned, let her- 
self down from a window which had escaped their notice, 
and ran to seek assistance for her parents. 

" In the meanwhile the Gipsies had burst open the out- 
ward door of the house, with a beam of wood which chanced 
to be lying in the court-yard. They next forced the door 
of the sitting apartment, and were met by the poor clergy- 
man, who prayed them at least to spare his life and that of 
his wife. But he spoke to men who knew no mercy ; Hemp- 
erla struck him on the breast with a torch ; and receiving 
the blow as a signal for death, the poor man staggered back 
to the table, and sinking in a chair, leaned his head on his 
hand, and expected the mortal blow. In this posture 
Hemperla shot him dead with a pistol. The wife of the 
clergyman endeavoured to fly, on witnessing the murder of 
her husband, but was dragged back, and slain 'by a pistol- 
shot, fired either by Essper George, or by a Gipsy called 
Christian. By a crime so dreadful those murderers only 
gained four silver cups, fourteen silver spoons, so'me trifling 
articles of apparel, and about twenty-two florins in money. 
They might have made more important booty, but the sen- 
tinel, whom they left on the outside, now intimated to them 
that the hamlet was alarmed, and tliat it was time to retire, 
which they did accordingly, undisturbed and in safety. 

" The Gipsies committed many enormities similar to those 
above detailed, and arrived at such a pitch of audacity as 
even to threaten the person of the Landgrave himself ; an 
enormity at which Dr. Wiessenburch, who never introduces 
the name or titles of that prince without printing tliem in 
letters of at least an inch long, expresses becoming horror. 
This was too much to be endured. Strong detachments of 
troops and militia scoured the country in different directions, 
and searched the woods and caverns which served the ban- 
ditti for places of retreat. These measures were for some 
time attended with little ejQfect. The Gipsies had the advan- 
tages of a perfect knowledge of the country, and excellent 



CONTINENTAL GIPSIES. 85 

intelligence. They baffled the efforts of the officers detached 
against them, and, on one or two occasions, even engaged 
tlieni with advantage. And when some females, unable to 
follow the retreat of the men, were made prisoners on such 
an occasion, the leaders caused it to be intimated to the 
authorities at Giessen that if their women were not set at 
liberty, the}' would murder and rob on the high roads, and 
plunder and burn the country. This state of warfare lasted 
from 1718 until 1726, during which period the subjects of 
tlie Landgrave suffered the utmost hardships, as no man was 
secure against nocturnal surprise of his property and person. 

" At length, in the end of 1725, a heavy and continued 
storm of snow compelled the Gipsy hordes to abandon the 
woods which had long served them as a refuge, and to ap- 
proach more near to the dwellings of men. As their move- 
ments could be traced and observed, the land-lieutenant, 
Krocker, who had been an assistant to the murdered Emer- 
ander, received intelligence of a band of Gipsies having 
appeared in the district of Sohnsassenheim, at a village 
called Fauerbach. Being aided by a party of soldiers and 
volunteers, he liad the luck to secure the w^hole gang, being 
twelve men and women. Among these was the notorious 
Hemperla, who was dragged by the heels from an oven in 
whicli he was attempting to conceal himself. Others were 
taken in the same manner, and imprisoned at Giessen, with 
a view to their trial. 

" Numerous acts of theft, and robbery, and murder were 
laid to the charge of these unfortunate wretches ; and, ac- 
cording to the existing laws of the empire, they were inter- 
rogated under torture. They were first tormented by means 
of thumb-screws, which they did not seem greatly to regard ; 
the Spanish boots, or 'leg-vices,' were next applied, and 
seldom failed to extort confession. Hemperla alone set 
both means at defiance, which induced the judges to believe 
he was possessed of some spell against these agonies. 
Having in vain searched his body for the supposed cliarra, 
they caused his hair to be cut off ; on which he himself ob- 
served that, had they not done so, he could have stood the 
torture for some time longer. As it was, his resolution gave 
way, and he made, undr^r the second application of the Span- 
ish boots, a full confession, not only of the murders of which 
he was accused, but of various otlier crimes. While he was 



86 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

in tliis agony, the judges had the cruelty to introduce his 
mother, a noted Gipsy woman, called the crone, into the tor- 
ture-chamber ; who shrieked fearfully, and tore her face with 
her nails, on perceiving the condition of her son, and still 
more on hearing him acknowledge his guilt. 

" Evidence of the guilt of tlie other prisoners was also 
obtained from their confessions, with or without torture, 
and from the testimony of witnesses examined by the fiscal. 
Sentence was finally passed on them, condemning four Gip- 
sies, among whom were Hemperla and the Little Gallant, to 
be broken on the wheel, nine others to be hanged, and thir- 
teen, of whom the greater part were women, to be beheaded. 
They underwent their doom with great firmness, upon the 
14th and 15th November, 1726. 

" The volume contains some rude prints, repre- 
senting the murders committed by the Gipsies, and the man- 
ner of their execution. There are also two prints repre- 
senting the portraits of the principal criminals, in which, 
though the execution be indifferent, the Gipsy features may 
be clearly traced." 

Leaving this view of the character of the continental 
Gipsies, we may take the following as illustrative of one of 
its brighter aspects. So late as the time of the celebrated 
Baron Trenck, it would appear that Germany was still in- 
fested with prodigiously large bands of Gipsies. In a 
forest near Ginnen, to which he had fled, to conceal himself 
from the pursuit of his persecutors, the Baron says : " Here 
we fell in with a gang of Gipsies, (or rather banditti,) 
amounting to four hundred men, who dragged me to their 
camp. They were mostly French and Prussian deserters, 
and, thinking me their equal, would force me to become one 
of their band. But venturing to tell my story to their 
leader, he presented me with a crown, gave us a small por- 
tion of bread and meat, and suffered us to depart in peace, 
after having been four-and-twenty hours in their company."* 

I shall conclude the notices of the continental Gipsies by 
some extracts from an article published in a French periodical 
work, for September, 1802, on the Gipsies of the Pyrenees ; 
who resemble, in many points, the inferior class of our 
Scottish Tinklers, about the beginning of the French war, 
more, perhaps, than those of any other country in Europe. 

* Life of Baron Trenck, translated by Thomas Holcroft, Vol. L, page 138. 



CONTINENTAL GIPSIES. 87 

" There exists, in the department of the Eastern Pyrenees, 
a people distinct from the rest of the inliabitants, of a foreign 
origin, and without any settled habits. It seems to have 
fixed its residence there for a considerable time. It changes 
its situation, multiplies there, and never connects itself by 
marriage with the other inhabitants. This people are called 
Gitanos, a Spanish word which signifies Egyptians. There 
are many Gitanos in Catalonia, who have similar habits to 
tlie above-mentioned, but Avho arc very strictly watched. 
They have all the vices of those Egyptians, or Bohemians, 
who formerly used to wander over the world, telling for- 
tunes, and living at the expense of superstition and credulity. 
These Gitanos, less idle and less wanderers than their prede- 
cessors, are afraid of publicly professing the art of fortune- 
tellers ; but their manner of life is scarcely different. 

" They scatter themselves among villages, and lonesome 
farms, where they steal fruit, poultry, and often even cattle ; 
in short, everything that is portable. They are almost al- 
ways abroad, incessantly watching an opportunity to practise 
tlieir thievery ; they hide themselves with much dexterity 
from the searcli of the police. Their women, in particular, 
have an uncommon dexterity in pilfering. When they enter 
a shop, they are watched with the utmost care ; but with 
every precaution they are not free from their rapines. They 
excel, above all, in hiding the pieces of silver which are 
given in exchange for gold, which they never fail to offer in 
payment, and they are so well hidden that they are often 
obliged to be undressed before restitution can be obtained. 

*' The Gitanos affect, externally, a great attachment to tlie 
Catholic religion ; and if one was to judge from the number 
of reliques tliey carry about with them, one would believe 
tliem exceedingly devout ; but all wlio have well observed 
tliem assure us they areas ignorant as hypocritical, and tliat 
they practise secretly a religion of their own. It is not rare 
to see their women, who have been lately brouglit to bed, 
have their children baptized several times, in different places, 
in order to obtain money from persons at their ease, whom 
they clioose for godfathei-s. Everything announces among 
them that moral degradation which must necessarily attac^h 
to a miserable, insulated caste, as strangers to society, whicli 
only suffers it through an excess of contempt. 

" The Gitanos are disgustingly filthy, and almost all co- 



88 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

vered with rags. They have neither tables, chairs, nor beds, 
but sit and eat on the ground. They are crowded in huts, 
pell-mell, in straw ; and their neglect of the decorum of so- 
ciety, so dangerous to morals, must have the most melancholy 
consequences on wretched vagabonds, abandoned to them- 
selves. They consequently are accused of giving themselves 
up to every disorder of the most infamous debauchery, and 
to respect neither the ties of blood nor the protecting laws 
of the virtues of families. 

" They feed on rotten poultry and fish, dogs and stinking 
cats, which they seek for with avidity ; and when this re- 
source fails them, they live on the entrails of animals, or 
other aliments of the lowest price. They leave their meat 
but a very few minutes on the fire, and the place where they 
cook it exhales an infectious smell. 

" They speak the Catalonian dialect, but they have, be- 
sides, a language to themselves, unintelligible to the natives 
of the country, from whom they aj-e very careful to hide the 
knowledge of it. 

*' The Gitanos are tanned like the mulattoes, of a size 
abovg mediocrity, well formed, active, robust, supporting all 
the changes of seasons, and sleeping in the open fields, when- 
ever their interest requires it. Their features are irregular, 
and show them to belong to a transplanted race. They 
have the mouth very wide, thick lips, and high cheek-bones. 

" As the distrust they inspire causes them to be carefully 
watched, it is not always possible for them to live by steal- 
ing : they then have recourse to industry, and a trifling trade, 
which seems to have been abandoned to them ; they show 
animals, and attend the fairs and markets, to sell or exchange 
mules and asses, which they know how to procure at a clieap 
rate. They are commonly cast-ofi" animals, which they have 
the art to dress up, and they are satisfied, in appearance, 
with a moderate profit, which, liowever, is always more than 
is supposed, because they feed these animals at the expense 
of the farmers. They ramble all night, in order to steal 
fodder ; and whatever precautions may have been taken 
against them, it is not possible to be always guarded against 
their address. 

" Happily the Gitanos are not murderers. It would, 
without doubt, be important to examine if it is to the natural 
goodness of their disposition, to their frugality, and the few 



CONTINENTAL GIPSIES. 89 

wants they feel in tlieir state of half savage, that is to be 
attributed the sentiment that repels them from great crimes, 
or if this disposition arises from their habitual state of alarm, 
or from that want of courage which must be a necessary 
consequence of the infamy in which they are plunged." * 

* Annals de Statistigue, No. Ill, page 31-37. — "What the TVTiter of this 
article says of the aversion which the Gipsies have to the shedding of 
human blood, not of their oum fi aiernity, npY^ears to have been universal 
among the tribe ; but, on the other hand, they seem to have had little or 
no hesitation in putting to death those of their own tribe. This writer also 
says, that the Gipsies of the Pyrenees have a religion of their own, which 
they practise secretly, without mentioning what this secret religion is. It 
is probable that his remark is applicable to the sacrifice of horses, as des- 
cribed in ciiapter viii. 



CHAPTER II. 

ENGLISH GIPSIES. 

The first arrival of the Gipsies in England appears to 
have been about the year 1512,^ but this does not seem to 
be quite certain. It is probable they may have arrived 
there at an earlier period. The autlior from which the 
fact is derived published his work in 1612, and states, gen- 
erally, that " this kind of people, about a hundred years 
ago, began to gather an head, about the southern parts. 
And this, I am informed and can gather, was their begin- 
ning : Certain Egyptians, banished their country, (belike 
not for their good condition,) arrived here in England ; 
who, for quaint tricks and devices, not known here at that 
time among us, were esteemed, and held in great admira- 
tion ; insomuch that many of our English loiterers joined 
with them, and in time learned their crafty cozening. 

" The speech which they used was the right Egyptian 
language, with whom our Englishmen conversing at last 
learned their language. These people, continuing about 
tlie country, and practising their cozening art, purchased 
themselves great credit among the country people, and got 
much by palmistry and telling of fortunes ; insomuch that 
they pitifully cozened poor country girls both of money, 
silver spoons, and the best of their apparel, or any goods 
they could make."t V 

From this author it is collected they had a leader of th^ 
name of Giles Hather, who was termed their king ; and a \ 
woman of the name of Calot was called queen. These, j 
riding through the country on horseback, and in Strang^ 
attire, had a pretty train after them. J 

* Hoyland. 
f A quarto work by S. R., published to detect and expose the art of 
juggling and legerdemain, in 1612. J Hoyland. 

(90) 



ENGLISH OIPSIFS. 91 

It appears, from this account, that the Gipsies had been 
observed on the continent about a hundred years before 
they visited England. According to Dr. Bright, they 
seemed to have roamed up and down the continent of Eu- 
rope, without molestation, for about half a century, before 
their true character was perfectly known. If 1512 w^as 
really the year in which these people first set foot in Eng- 
land, it would seem that the English government had not 
been so easily nor so long imposed on as the kings of Scot- 
land, and the authorities of Europe generally. For we 
find that, within about the space of ten years from this 
period, they are, by the 10th chapter of the 22d Henry 
VIII, denominated "an outlandish people, calling them- 
selves Egyptians, using no craft nor feat of merchandise, 
who have come into this realm, and gone from shire to 
shire, and place to place, in great company ; and used great 
subtlety and crafty means to deceive the people — bearing 
them in hand that they, by palmistry, could tell men's and 
women's fortunes ; and so, many times, by craft and subtlety, 
have deceived the people foi their money ; and also have 
committed many heinous felonies and robberies." As far 
back as the year 1549, they had become very troublesome 
in England, for, on the 22d June of that year, according to 
Burnet's History of the Reformation, " there was privy 
search made through all Sussex for all vagabonds, Gipsies, 
conspirators, prophesiers, players, and such like." 

The Gipsies in England still continued to commit num- 
berless thefts aiid robberies, in defiance of the existing 
statutes ; so that each succeeding law enacted against tliem 
became severer than the one which preceded it. The fol- 
lowing is an extract from the 27th Henry VIII : " Whereas, 
certain outlandish people, who do not profess any craft or 
trade whereby to maintain themselves, but go about in 
great numbers, from place to place, using insidious means to 
impose on his majesty's subjects, making them believe that 
they understand the art of foretelling to men and women 
their good and evil fortunes, by looking in their hands, 
whereby they frequently defraud people of their money ; 
likewise are guilty of thefts and highway robberies : It is 
hereby ordered that the said vagrants, commonly called 
Egyptians, in case as thieves and rascals .... and on the 
importation of any such Egyptians; lie, the importer, sliall 



92 A BISTORT OF THE GIPSIES. 

forfeit forty pounds for every trespass." So much had the 
conduct of the Gipsies exasperated the government of Queen 
Elizabeth, that it was enacted, during her reign, that " If 
any person, being fourteen years, whether natural born sub- 
ject or stranger, who had been seen in tlie fellowship of such 
persons, or disguised like them, and remain with them one 
month at once, or at several times, it should be felony with- 
out benefit of clergy."^ It would thus appear that, when 
the Gipsies first arrived in England, they had not kept 
their language a secret, as is now the case ; for some of the 
Englishmen of that period had acquired it by associating 
with them.f 

In carrying out the foregoing extraordinary enactments, 
the public was at the expense of exporting the Gipsies to 
the continent ; and it may reasonably be assumed that great 
numbers of these unhappy people were executed under these 
sanguinary laws. A few years before the restoration of 
Charles II, thirteen Gipsies were executed " at one Suffolk 
assize." This appears to have been the last instance of in- 
flicting the penalty of death on these unfortunate people in 
England, merely because they were Gipsies. J But although 
these laws of blood are now repealed, the English Gipsies 
are liable, at the present day, to be proceeded against under 
the Vagrant Act ; as these statutes declare all tliose per- 
sons " pretending to be Gipsies, or waudering in the habit 
and form of Egyptians, shall be deemed rogues and vaga- 
bonds." 

In the reign of Queen Elizabeth it was thought England 
contained above 10,000 Gipsies ; and Mr. Hoyland, in his 
historical survey of these people, supposes tliat there are 
18,000 of the race in Britain at the present day. A mem- 
ber of Parliament, it is reported, stated, in the House of 
Commons, that there were not less than 36,000 Gipsies in 
Great Britain. I am inclined to believe that the statement 
of the latter will be nearest the truth ; as I am convinced 
that the greater part of all those persons who traverse Eng- 
land with earthenware, in carts and waggons, are a superior 
class of Gipsies. Indeed, a Scottish Gipsy informed me, 

* English acts of Parliament. 
•}• This does not appear to be necessarily the case. These Englishmen 
may have married Gipsies, become Gipsies by adoption, and so learned 
the language, as happens at the present day. — Ed. % Hoyland. 



ENGLISH GIPSIES. 93 

that almost all those people are actually Gipsies. Now Mr. 
Hoyland takes none of these potters into his account, wlien 
he estimates the Gipsy population at only 18,000 souls. ^' 
Besides, Gipsies have informed me that Ireland contains a 
great many of the tribe ; many of whom are now finding 
their way into Scotland.* 

I am inclined to think that the greater part of the Eng- 
lish Gipsies live more apart from the other inhabitants of 
the country, reside more in tents, and exhibit a great deal 
more of their pristine manners, than their brethren do in 
Scotland. t 

The English Gipsies also travel in Scotland, with earthen- 
ware in cart? and waggons. A body of them, to the num- 
ber of six tents, with sixteen horses, encamped, on one occa- 
sion, on the farm of Kingledoors, near the source of the 
Tweed. They remained on the ground from Saturday night 
till about ten o'clock on Monday morning, before they 
struck their tents and waggons. 

At St. BoswelFs fair I once inspected a horde of English 
Gipsies, encamped at the side of a hedge, on the Jedburgh 
road as it enters St. Boswell's Green. Their name was 
Blewett, from the neighbourhood of Darlington. The cliief 
possessed two tents, two large carts laden with earthenware, 
four horses and mules, and five large dogs. He was attended 
by two old females and ten young children. One of the 
women was the mother of fourteen, and the otlier the 
mother of fifteen, children. This cliief and the two females 
were the most swarthy and barbarous looking people I ever 
saw. They had, however, two beautiful children with them, 

* The number of the British Gipsies mentioned here is greatly under- 
stated. See Disquisition on the Gipsies. — Ed. 

f In no part of the world is the Gipsy life more in accordance with the 
general idea that the Gipsy is like Cain — a wanderer on the fiice of tlie 
earth — than in England ; for there, the covered cart and the little tent are 
the houses of the Gipsy ; and he seldom remains more than three days in 
the same place. So conducive is the climate of England to beauty, tliat 
nowhere else is the appearance of the race so prepossessing as in tliat 
country. Their complexion is dark, but not disagreeably so ; their faces 
are oval, their features regular, their foreheads rather low, and their hands 
and feet small. The men are taller than the English peasantry, and far 
more active. Tliey all speak the English language with fluency, and in 
their gait and demeanour are easy and graceful; in both respects standing 
in striking contrast with the pea;santry. who in speech are slow and un- 
couth, and in manner dogged and brutal. — Borrow. — En. 



94 A HISTORY OF TEE GIPSIES. 

about five years of age, with light flaxen hair, and ver}' fair 
complexions. The old Gipsy women said they were twins ; 
but they might have been stolen from diflerent parents, for 
all that, as there was nothing about them that had the 
slightest resemblance to any one of the horde that claimed 
them. Apparently much care was taken of tliem, as they 
were very cleanly and neatly kept.* 

This Gipsy potter was a thick-set, stout man, above the 
middle size. He was dressed in an old dark-blue frock coat, 
with a profusion of black, greasy hair, which covered the 
upper part of his broad shoulders. He wore a high-crowned, 
narrow-brimmed, old hat, with a lock of his black hair 
hanging down before each ear, in the same manner as the 
Spanish Gipsies are described by Swinburn. He also wore 
a pair of old full-topped boots, pressed half way down his 
legs, and wrinkled about his ankles, like buskins. His vis- 
age was remarkably dark and gloomy. He walked up and 
down the market alone, without speaking to any one, with a 
peculiar air of independence about him, as he twirled in his 
hand, in the Gipsy manner, by way of amusement, a strong 
bludgeon, about three feet long, which he held by the centre. 
I happened to be speaking to a surgeon in the fair, at the 
time the Gipsy passed me, when I observed to him that that 
strange-looking man was a Gipsy ; at which the surgeon 
only laughed, and said he did not believe any such thing. 
To satisfy him, I followed the Gipsy, at a little distance, 
till he led me straight to his tents at the Jedbm-gh road 
already mentioned. 

This Gipsy band had none of their wares unpacked, nor 
were they selling anything in the market. They were 
cooking a lamb's head and pluck, in a pan suspended from a 
triangle of rods of iron, while beside it lay an abundance 
of small potatoes, in a wooden dish. The females wore 
black Gipsy bonnets. The visage of the oldest one was re- 
markably long, her chin resting on her breast. These three 
old Gipsies were, altogether, so dark, grim, and outlandish- 
looking, that they had little or no appeai-ance of being 
natives of Britain. On enquiring if they were Gipsies, 

* If, does not follow, from what our author says about these two children, 
that they were stolen. I hare seen some of the children of English Gip- 
sies as fair as any Saxon. It sometimes happens that the flaxen hair of a 
Gipsy cluld will change into raven black before he reaches manhood. — Ed, 



ENGLISH GIPSIES. 95 

and could speak the language, the oldest female gave me 
the following answer : " We are potters, and strangers in 
tliis land. The people are civil unto us. I say, God bless 
the people ; God bless them all." She spoke these words in 
a decided, emphatic, and solemn tone, as if she believed 
lierself possessed of the power to curse or bless at pleasure. 
On turning my back, to leave them, I observed them burst 
out a-laughing ; making merry, as I supposed, at the idea of 
having deceived me as to the tribe to which they belonged. 

The following anecdote will give some idea of the man- 
ner of life of the Gipsies in England. 
// A man, whom I knew, happened to lose his way, one dark 
night, in Cambridgeshire. After wandering up and down 
for some time, he observed a light, at a considerable distance 
from him, within the skirts of a wood, and, being overjoyed 
at the discovery, he directed his course toward it ; but, be- 
fore reaching the lire, he w^as surprised at hearing a man, a 
little way in advance, call out to him, in a loud voice, " Peace 
or not peace ?" The benighted traveller, glad at hearing 
the sound of a human voice, immediately answered, " Peace ; 
I am a poor Scotchman, and have lost my way in the dark." 
" You can come forward then," rejoined the sentinel. When 
the Scotchman advanced, he found a family of Gipsies, with 
only one tent ; but, on being conducted further into the 
wood, he was introduced to a great company of Gipsies. 
They were busily employed in roasting several wiiole sheep 
— turning their carcasses before large fires, on long wooden 
poles, instead of iron spits. The racks on which the spits 
turned were also made of wood, driven into the ground, 
cross-ways, like the letter X. The Gipsies were exceedingly 
kind to the stranger, causing him to partake of the victuals 
which they had prepared for their feast. He remained with 
them the whole night, eating and drinking, and dancing with 
his merry entertainers, as if he had been one of tliemselves. 
When day dawned, the Scotcliman counted twelve tents 
w^ithin a short distance of each other. On examining his 
position, he found himself a long way out of his road ; but 
a party of the Gipsies voluntarily offered their services, 
and went with him for several miles, and, with great kind- 
ness, conducted him to the road from whicli he had wandered. 

The crimes of some of the English Gipsies have greatly 
exceeded those of the Scottish, such as the latter have been. 



96 A HISTOET OF THE GIPSIES. 

The following details of the history of an Englisli Gipsy- 
family are taken from a report on the prisons in Northum- 
berland. The writer of this report does not appear to have 
been aware, however, of the family in question being Gip- 
sies, speaking an Oriental language, and tliat, according to 
the custom of tlieir tribe, a dexterous theft or robbery is 
one of the most meritorious actions they can perform. 

" Crime in Families. William Winters' Family, 

" William himself, and one of his sons, were hanged toge- 
ther for murder. Another son committed an offence for 
which he was sent to the hulks, and, soon after his release, 
was concerned in a murder, for which he was hano^ed. Three 
of the daughters were convicted of various offences, and the 
mother was a woman of notorious bad character. The 
family was a terror to the neighbourhood, and, according to 
report, had been so for generations. The father, with a 
woman with whom he cohabited, (himself a married man,) 
was hanged for house-breaking. His first wife was a wo- 
man of very bad character, and his second wife was trans- 
ported. One of the sons, a notorious thief, and two of tlie 
daughters, were hanged for murder. Mr. Blake believes 
that the only member of the family that turned out well was 
a girl, who was taken from the father when he was in pri- 
son, previous to execution, and brought up apart from her 
brothers and sisters. The grandfather was once in a lunatic 
asylum, as a madman. The father had a quarrel with one 
of his sons, about the sale of some property, and shot hira 
dead. The mother co-habited with another man, and was 
one morning found dead, with her throat cu-t. One of the 
sons, (not already spoken of,) had a bastard child by one of 
his cousins, herself of weak intellect, and, being under suspi- 
cion of having destroyed the child, was arrested. While in 
prison, however, and before the trial came on, he destroyed 
himself by cutting his throat." 

This family, I believe, are the Winters noticed by Sir 
Wsbker Scott, in Blackwood's Magazine, as follows : 

" A gang (of Gipsies), of the name of Winters, long in- 
habited the wastes of Northumberland, and committed many 
crimes ; among others, a murder upon a poor woman, with 
singular atrocity, for which one of them was hung in chains, 



ENGLISH GIPSIES. 97 

near Tonpitt, in Reedsdale. The mortal reliques having 
decayed, the lord of the manor has replaced them by a 
wooden effigy, and still maintains the gibbet. The remnant 
of this gang came to Scotland, about fifteen years ago, and 
assumed the Roxburghshire name of Wintirip, as they found 
their own something odious. They settled at a cottage 
within about four miles of Earlston, and became great plagues 
to the country, until they were secured, after a tight battle, 
tried before the circuit court at Jedburgh, and banished 
back to their native country of England. The dalesmen of 
Keedwater showed great reluctance to receive these returned 
emigrants. After the Sunday service at a little chapel near 
Otterbourne, one of the squires rose, and, addressing the con- 
gregation, told them they would be accounted no longer 
Keedsdale men, but Reedsdale women, if they permitted this 
marked and atrocious family to enter their district. The 
people answered that they would not permit them to come 
that way ; and the proscribed family, hearing of the unan- 
imous resolution to oppose their passage, went more -south- 
ernly, by the heads of the Tyne, and I never heard more of 
them, but I have little doubt they are all hanged." * 

* It is but just to say that this family of Winters is, or at least was, the 
worst kind of English Gipsies. Their name is a by-word among the race 
in England. When they say, " It's a winter morning," they wish to ex- 
i:ress something very bad. It is difficult to get them to admit that the 
Winters belong to the tribe. — Ed. 



CHAPTER III. 

SCOTTISH GIPSIES, DOWN TO THE TEAR 1715. 

That the Gipsies were in Scotland in the year 1506 is 
certain, as appears by a letter of James TV, of Scotland, to 
the King of Denmark, in favour of Anthonius Gawino, Earl 
of Little Egypt, a Gipsy chief. But there is a tradition, re- 
corded in Crawford^s Peerage, that a company of Gipsies, 
or Saracens, were committing depredations in Scotland be- 
fore the death of James II, which took place in 1460, being 
forty-six years after the Gipsies were first observed on the 
continent of Europe, and it is, therefore, probable that these 
wanderers were encamped on Scottish ground before the 
year 1460, above mentioned. As I am not aware of Sara- 
cens ever having set foot in Scotland, England, or Ireland, I 
am disposed to think, if there is any truth in this tradition, 
it alludes to the Gipsies.* The story relates to the estate 
and family of McLellan of Bombie, in Galloway, and is as 
follows : 

In the reign of James II, the Barony of Bombie was again 
recovered by the McLellans, (as the tradition goes,) after 
this manner : In the same reign, says our author of small 
credit, (Sir George McKenzie, in his baronage M.S.,) it hap- 
pened that a company of Saracens or Gipsies, from Ireland,! 

* There is no reason to doubt that these were Gipsies. They were evi- 
dently a roving* band, from some of the continental hordes, that had passed 
over into Scotland, to " prospect" and plunder. They would, very natur- 
ally, be called Saracens by the natives of Scotland, to whom any black 
people, at that time, would appear as Saracens, We may, therefore, assume 
that the Gipsies have been fully four hundred years in Scotland. I may 
mention, however, that Mediterranean corsairs occas^ionally landed and 
plundered on the British coast, to as late a period as the reign of Charles 
I.— Ed. 

f Almost all the Scottish Gipsies assert that their ancestors came by 
way of Ireland into Scotland. 

[This is extremely likely. On the publication of the edict of Ferdinand 
(98) 



SCOTTISH QirSIES. 99 

infested the county of Galloway, whereupon the king intim- 
ated a proclamation, bearing, that wlioever should disperse 
them, and bring in their captain, dead or alive, should have 
the Barony of Bombie for his reward. It chanced that a 
brave young gentleman^ the laird of Bombie's son, fortunated 
to kill the person for which the reward was promised, and 
he brought his head on the point of his sword to the king, 
and thereupon he was immediately seized in the Barony of 
Bombie ; and to perpetuate tlie memory of that brave and 
remarkable action, he took for his crest a Moor's head, and 
* Think on' for his raotto."^ 

As armorial bearings were generally assumed to commem- 
orate facts and deeds of arms, it is likely that the crest of 
the McLellans is the head of a Gipsy chief. In the reign 
of James II, alluded to, we find " away putting of sorners^ 
(forcible obtruders,) fancied fools, vagabonds, out-liers, mas- 
terful beggars, hairds^ (strolling rhymers,) and such like 
runners about," is more than once enforced by acts of parlia- 
ment.f 

But the earliest authentic notice which has yet been dis- 
covered of the first appearance of the Gipsies in Scotland, is 
the letter of James IV, to the King of Denmark, in 1506. 
At this period these vagrants represented themselves as 
Egyptian pilgrims, and so far imposed on our religious and 
melancholy monarch, as to procure from him a favourable 
recommendation to his uncle of Denmark, in behalf of one of 
these " Earls," and his " lamentable retinue." The following 
is a translation of this curious epistle : 

" Most illustrious, <fec. — Anthonius Gawino, Earl of Little 
Egypt, and the other afflicted and lamentable tribe of his re- 
tinue, whilst, through a desire of travelling, and, by command 
of the Pope,:]: (as he says,) pilgriming, over the Christian 

of Spain, in 1492, some of the Spanish Gipsies would likely pass over to the 
south of Ireland, and thence find their way into Scotland, before 1506. 
Anthonius Gawino, above referred to, would almost seem to be a Spanish 
name. We may, therefore, very safely assume that the Gipsies of Scotland 
are of Spanish (^ipsy descent. — Ed. 

* Crawford's Peeraf^e, page 238. 

+ Glendook's Scots' acts of parliament, 

X Mr. Hoyland makes some very judicious remarks upon the capacity of 
the Gipsies, when they first appeared in Europe, lie says: " The first of 
this people who came into Europe must have been persons of discernment 
and discrimination, to have adapted their deceptions so exactly to the genius 
and habits of the differeut people they visited, as to ensure success in all 

LOFC 



100 A HISTORY OF TEE GIPSIES. 

world, according to their custom, had lately arrived on the 
frontiers of our kingdom, and implored us that we, out of 
humanity, would allow him to approach our limits without 
damage, and freely carry about all things, and the company 
he now has. He easily obtains what the hard fortune 
wretched men require. Thus he has sojourned here, (as we 
have been informed,) for several months, in peaceable and 
catholic manner. King and uncle, he now proposes a voyage 
to Denmark to thee. But, being about to cross the ocean, 
he hath requested our letters, in which we would inform 
your Highness of these, and at the same time commend the 
calamity of this tribe to your royal munificence. But we 
believe that the fates, manners, and race of the wandering 
Egyptians are better known to thee than us, because Egypt 
is nearer thy kingdom, and a greater number of such men 
sojourn in thy kingdom. — Most illustrious, &c."* 

countries. The stratagem to which they had recourse, on entering France, 
evinces consummate artifice of plan, and not a little adroitness and dex- 
terity in the execution. The specious appearance of submission to Papal 
authority, in the penance of wandering seven years, without lying in a bed, 
contained three distinct objects. They could not have devised an expedient 
more likely to recommend them to the favour of the ecclesiastics, or better 
concerted for taking advantage of the superstitious credulity of the people, 
and, at the same time, for securing to themselves the gratification of their 
own nomadic propensities. So complete was the deception they practised, 
that we find they wandered up and down France, under the eye of the ma- 
gistracy, not for seven years only, but for more than a hundred years, with- 
out molestation." 

Mr. Hoyland's remarks cover only half of the question, for, being " pil- 
grims," their chiefs must also assume very high titles, to give them con- 
sideration with the rulers of Europe — such as dukes, earlt*, lords, counts 
and knights. To carry out the character of pilgrims, the body would go 
very poorly clad ; it would only be the chiefs who would be flashily accou- 
tred. It is, therefore, by no means wonderful that the Gipsies should have 
succeeded so well, and so long, in obtaining an entrance, and a toleration, 
in every country of Europe. — Ed. 

* Illustrissime, &c. — Anthonius Gawino, ex Parva Egypto comes, et 
csetera ejus comitatus, gens afflicta et miseranda, dum Christianam orbem 
peregrinationes studio, Apostolicse sedis, (ut refert) jussu, suorum more 
peregrinans, fines nostri regni dudum advenerat, atque in sortis suse, et 
miseriarum hujus populi, refugium, nos pro humanitate imploraverat ut 
iiostros limites sibi impune adire, res cunctas, et quam habet societatem 
libere circumagere liceret. Impetrat facile quje postulat miseroi-um honii- 
nura dura fortuna. Ita aliquot menses bene et catholice, (sic accepimus,) 
hie versatus, ad te. Rex et avuncule. in Daciara transitum paret. Sed 
oceanum transmissurus nostras literas exoravit ; quibus celsitudinem tuam 
horum certiorum redderemus, simul et calamitatem ejus gentis Regiae ture 
munificentise comraendaremus. Ceterum errabundaj Egypti fata, moresque, 
et genus, eo tibe quam nobis credimus notiora, quo Eg^rptus tuo regno 



SCOTTISH GIPSIES 101 

From 1506 to 1540, tlie 28th of the reign of James Y, 
we find that the true cliaractcr of the Gipsies liad not 
reached the Scottish court ; for, in 1540, the king of Scot- 
land entered into a league or treaty with "John Faw, 
Lord and Earl of Little Egypt ;" and a writ passed the 
Privy Seal, tlie same year, in favour of this Prince or Bajah 
of the Gipsies. As the public edicts in favour of this race 
are extremely rare, I trust a copy of this curious document, 
in this place, may not be unacceptable to the reader.* 

" James, by the grace of God, King of Scots : To our 
sheriffs of Edinburgh, principal and within the constabulary 
of Haddington, Berwick, Roxburgh, &c., &c. ; provosts, 
aldermen, and baillies of our burghs and cities of Edinburgh, 
&c., &c., greeting : Forasmuch as it is humbly meant and 
shown to us, by our loved John Faw, Lord and Earl of Little 
Egypt, that whereas he obtained our letter under our great 
seal, direct you all and sundry our said sheriffs, Stewarts, 
baillies, provosts, aldermen, and baillies of burghs, and to 
all and sundry others having autliority within our realm, to 
assist him in execution of justice upon his company and 
folk, conform to the laws of Egypt, and in punishing of all 
them that rebel against him : nevertheless, as we are in- 
formed, Sebastiane Lalow, Egyptian, one of the said John's 
company, with his accomplices and partakers under written, 
that is to say, Anteane Donea, Satona Fingo, Nona Finco, 
Phillip Hatseyggaw, Towla Bailyow, Grasta Neyn, Geleyr 
Bailyow, Bernard Beige, Demeo Matskalla (or Macskalla), 
Notfaw Lawlowr, Martyn Femine, rebels and conspirators 
against the said John Faw, and have removed them all 
utterly out of his company, and taken from him divers sums 
of money, jewels, clothes and other goods, to the quantity 
of a great sum of money ; and on nowise will pass home 
with him, howbeit he has bidden and remained of long time 
upon them, and is bound and obliged to bring home with 
him all them of his company that are alive, and a testimony 
of them that are dead : and as the said John has the said 

vicinior, et major hujusmodi hominum frequentia tuo diversatur imperio. 
Illustrissime, (fee. 

* I have taken the liberty of translating the various extracts from the 
Scottish acts of parliament, quoted in this chapter, as the original languago 
is not very intelligible to English or even Scottish readers. For doing 
this, I may be denounced as a Vandal by the ultra Scotch, for so treating 
such " ricli old Doric," as the language of the period may be termed. — Ei>* 



103 A HISTORY OF TEE GIPSIES. 

Sebastiane^s obligation, made in Dunfermline before our 
master household, that he and his company should remain 
with him, and on nowise depart from him, as the same bears : 
In contrary to the tenor of which, the said Sebastiane, by 
sinister and wrong information, false relation, circumvention 
of us, has purchased our writings, discharging him and the 
remnant of the persons above written, his accomplices and 
partakers of the said John's company, and with his goods 
taken by them from him ; causes certain our lieges assist 
them and their opinions, and to fortify and take their part 
against the said John, their lord and master ; so that he on 
nowise can apprehend nor get them, to have them home 
again within their own country, after the tenor of his said 
bond, to his heavy damage and skaitli (hurt), and in great 
peril of losing his heritage, and expressly against justice : 
Our will is, therefore, and we charge you straightly and 

command that ye and every one of you 

within the bounds of your offices, command and charge all 
our lieges, that none of them take upon hand to reset, 
assist, fortify, supply, maintain, defend, or take part with 
the said Sebastiane and his accomplices above written, for 
no body's nor other way, against the said John Faw, their 
lord and master ; but that they and ye, in likewise, take 
and lay hands upon them wherever they may be apprehended, 
and bring them to him, to be punished for their demerits, 
conform to his laws ; and help and fortify him to punish and 
do justice upon them for their trespasses ; and to that effect 
lend him your prisons, stocks, fetters, and all other things 
necessary thereto, as ye and each of you, and all other our 
lieges, will answer to us thereupon, and under all highest 
pain and charge that after may follow : So that the said 
John have no cause of complaint tliereupon in time coming, 
nor to resort again to us to tliat effect, notwithstanding any 
our writings, sinisterly purchased or to be purchased, by the 
said Sebastiane on the contrary : And also charge all our 
lieges that none of them molest, vex, unquiet, or trouble the 
said John Faw and his company, in doing their lawful busi- 
ness, or otherwise, within our realm, and in their passing, 
remaining, or away-going forth of the same, under the pain 
above written : And such-like that ye command and charge 
all skippers, masters and mariners of all sliips within our 
realm, at all ports and havens where the said John and his 



SCOTTISH GIPSIES. 103 

company shall happen to resort and come, to receive him 
and them therein, upon their expenses, for furthering of them 
forth of our realm to the parts beyond sea, as you and each 
of them such-like will answer to us thereupon, and under 
the pain aforesaid. Subscribed with our hand, and under 
our privy seal at Falkland, the fifteenth day of February, 
and of our reign the 28th year."* 

* Ex. Registro Secret! Sigilli, Vol. XIV, fol. 59. Blackwood. Appendix 
to McLaurin's Criminal Trials. 

This document may well be termed the most curious and important record 
of the early history of the Gipsy race in Europe ; and it is well worthy of 
consideration. The meaning of it is simply this : John Faw had evidently 
been importuned by the Scottish Court, (at which he appears to have been 
a man of no small consequence,) to bring his so-called "pilgrimage," which 
he had undertaken "by command of the Pope," to an end, so far, at least, 
as remaining in Scotland was concerned. Being pressed upon the point, 
he evidently, as a last resource, formed a plan with Sebastiane Lalow, and 
the other " rebels," to leave him, and carry off, (as he said,) his property. 
To give the action an air of importance, and make it appear as a real rebel- 
lion, they brought the question into court. Then, John could turn round, 
and reply to the king : "May it please your majesty! I can't return to 
my own country. My company and folk have conspired, rebelled, robbed, 
and left me. I can't lay my hands upon them ; I don't even know where 
to find them. I must take them home with me, or a testimony of them 
that are dead, under the great peril of losing my heritage, at the hands of 
my lord, the Duke of Egj-pt. However, if your majesty will help me to 
catch them, I will not be long in taking leave of your kingdom, with all 
my company. In the meantime, your majesty wUl be pleased to issue 
your commands to all the shipowners and mariners in the kingdom, to be 
ready, when I gather together my folk{!) to further our passage to Egypt, 
for which I will pay them handsomely." The whole business may be 
termed a piece of " thimble-rigging," to prolong their stay — that is, enable 
them to remain permanently — in the country. Our author, I think, is quite 
in error in supposing this to have been a real quarrel among the Gipsies. 
If it had been a real quarrel, the Gipsies would soon have settled the ques- 
tion among themselves, by their own laws ; it would have been the last 
thing, under all the circumstances of the case, they would have thought 
of, to have brought it before the Scottish court. The Gipsies, according 
to Grellmann, assigned the following reason for prolonging their stay in 
Europe: " They endeavoured to prolong the term (of their pilgrimage) by 
asserting that their return home was prevented by soldiers, stationed to 
intercept them ; and by wishing to have it believed that new parties of 
pilgrims were to leave their country every year, otherwise their land would 
be rendered totally barren." 

The quarrel between the Faas and the Baillies, for the Gipsy croton, in 
after times, did not, in all probability, arise from this business, but most 
likely, as the English Gipsies believe, from some marriage between these 
families. The Scottish Gipsies, like the two Roses, have had. and for aught 
I know to the contrary, may have yet, two rival kings — Faa and Baillie, 
with their partisans — although the Faas, from the prominent position which 
they have alwaj\s occupied in Scottish history, have been the only kings 
known to the Scottish public generally. 



104 A BISTORT OF TEE GIPSIES. 

This curious league of John Faw with the Scottish king, 
who acknowledges the laws and customs of the Gipsies 
within his kingdom, was of very short duration. Like that 
of many other favourites of princes, the credit which the 
" Earl of Little Egypt" possessed at court was, the succeed- 
ing year, completely annihilated, and that with a vengeance, 
as will appear by the following order in council. The Gip- 
sies, quarrelling among themselves, and publicly bringing 
their matters of dispute before the government, had, per- 
haps, contributed to produce an enquiry into the real char- 
acter and conduct of these foreigners ; verifying the ancient 
adage, that a house divided against itself cannot stand. 
But the immediate cause assigned for the sudden change of 
mind in the king, so unfortunate for the Gipsies, is handed 
down to us in the following tradition, current in Fife : 

King James V, as he was travelling through part of his 
dominions, disguised under the character of the Gaberlunzie- 
man, or Guid-man of Ballangiegh, prosecuting, as was his 
custom, his low and vague amours, fell in with a band of 
Gipsies, in the midst of their carousals, in a cave, near 
Wemyss, in Fifeshire. His majesty heartily joined in their 
revels, but it was not long before a scuffle ensued, wherein 
the king was very roughly handled, being in danger of his 
life.* The Gipsies, perceiving at last that he was none of 
their people, and considering him a spy, treated him with 
great indignity. Among other humiliating insults, they 
compelled his royal majesty, as an humble servant of a Tink- 
ler, to carry their budgets and wallets on his back, for 
several miles, until he was exhausted ; and being unable to 

In perusing this work, the reader will be pleased to take the above men- 
tioned document as the starting point of the history of the Gipsies in 
Scotland ; and consider the Gipsies of that time as the progenitors of all 
those at present in Scotland, including the great increase of the body, by 
the mixture of the white blood that has been brought within their com- 
munity. He will also be pleased to direst himself of the childish preju- 
dices, acquired in the uurser^^ and in general literature, against the name 
of Gipsy ; and consider that there are people in Scotland, occupying some 
of the highest positions in life, who are Gipsies ; not indeed Gipsies in point 
of purity of blood, but people who have Gipsy blood in their veins, and 
who hold themselves to be Gipsies, in the manner which I have, to a cer- 
tain extent, explained in the Preface, and will more fully illustrate in my 
Disquisition on the Gipsies. — En. 

* The Gipsies assert that, on this occasion, the king attempted to take 
liberties with one of their women : and that one of the male Gipsies 
'• came crack over his head with a bottle." — Ed. 



SCOTTISH GIPSIES. 105 

proceed a step further, he sank under his load. He was 
then dismissed with scorn and contempt by the merciless 
Gipsies. Being exasperated at their cruel and contemptuous 
treatment of his sacred person, and having seen a fair speci- 
men of their licentious manner of life, the king caused an order 
in council immediately to be issued, declaring that, if three 
Gipsies were found together, one of the three was instantly 
to be seized, and forthwith hanged or shot, by any one of 
his majesty's subjects that chose to put the order in execution. 

This tradition is noticed by the Rev. Andrew Small, in 
his antiquities of Fife, in the following words. His book 
came into my hands after I had written down my account 
of the tradition. 

" But, surely, this would be the last tinker that ever he 
would dub (a knight). If we may judge from what hap- 
pened, one might imagine he, (James Y,) would be heartily 
sick of them, (tinkers,) being taken prisoner by three of them, 
and compelled to stay with them several days, so that his 
nobles lost all trace of him, and being also forced, not only 
to lead their ass, but likewise to assist it in carrying part of 
the panniers ! At length he got an opportunity, when they 
were bousing in a house at the east end of the village of 
Milnathort, where tliere is now a new meeting-house built, 
when he was left on the green with the ass. He contrived 
to write, some way, on a slip of paper, and gave a boy half- 
a-crown to run with it to Falkland, and give it to his no- 
bles, intimating that the guid-man of Ballangiegh was in a 
state of captivity. After they got it, and knew where he 
was, they were not long in being with him, although it was 
fully ten miles they had to ride. Whenever he got assist- 
ance, he caused two of the tinkers, that were most harsh 
and severe to him, to be hanged immediately, and let the 
third one, that was most favourable to him, go free. They 
were hanged a little south-west of the village, at a place 
which, from the circumstance, is called the Gallovv-hill to 
this day. The two skeletons were lately found after the 
division of the commonty that recently took ])lace. He also, 
after this time, made a law, that whenever three tinkers, or 
Gipsies, were found going together, two of them should bo 
hanged, and the third set at liberty."^' 

* Small's Roman Antiquities of Fife, pages 285 and 286. Small also re- 
cords a song composed on James V dubbing a Tinker a linight. 

5* 



106 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES, 

The following order in council is, perhaps, the one to 
which this tradition alludes : 

" Act of the lords of council respecting John Faw, <fec., 
June 6, 1541. The which day anent the complaint given 
by John Faw and his brother, and Sebastiane Lalow, 
Egyptians, to the King's grace, ilk ane plenizeand .... 
upon other and divers faults and injuries ; and that it is 
agreed among them to pass home, and have the same decid- 
ed before the Duke of Egypt."^ The lords of council, being 
advised with the points of the said complaints, and under- 
standing perfectly tlie great thefts and skaitks (hurts) done 
by the said Egyptians upon our sovereign lord's lieges, where- 
ever they come or resort, ordain letters to be directed to the 
provosts and baillies of Edinburgh, St. Johnstown (Perth), 
Dundee, Montrose, Aberdeen, St. Andrews, Elgin, Forres, 
and Inverness; and to the sheriffs of Edinburgh, Fife, 
Perth, Forfar, Kincardine, Aberdeen, Elgin and Forres, 
Banff, Cromarty, Inverness, and all other sheriffs, Stewarts, 
provosts and baillies, where it happens the said Egyptians to 
resort.t To command and charge them, by open proclama- 
tion, at the market crosses of the head burghs of the sher- 
iffdoms, to depart forth of this realm, with their wives, chil- 
dren, and companies, within xxx days after they be charged 
thereto, under the pain of death ; notwithstanding any 
other letters or privileges granted to them by the king's 
grace, because his grace, with the advice of the lords, has 
discharged the same for the causes aforesaid : with certifi- 
cation that if they be found in this realm, the said xxx days 
being past, they shall be taken and put to death.":!: 

This sharp order in council seems to have been the first 
edict banishing the Gipsies as a whole people — men, women, 

* It would seem that John Faw had become frightened at the mishap of ono 
of his folk " coming crack over the king's head with a bottle," and that, to 
pacify his majesty, he had at once gone before him, and informed him that 
he had prevailed on his '•' rebellious subjects" to pass home, and have the 
matter in dispute decided by the Buke of Egi/pt. This would, so far, satisfy 
the king ; but to make sure of getting rid of his troublesome visitors, he 
issued his commands to the various authorities to see that they really did 
leave the country. — Ed. 

f It would appear, from the mention that is made here of the authoritiea 
of so many towns and counties, " where it happens the said Egyptians tc 
resort," that the race was scattered over all Scotland at this time, and that 
it must have been numerous. — Ed. 

J M. S. Act. Dom. Con. vol. 15, fol. 155. — Blackwood's Magazine. 



SCOTTISH GIPSIES. 107 

and children — from Scotland. But the king, whom, accord- 
ing to tradition, they had personally so deeply offended, dying 
in the following year, (1542) a new reign brought new 
prospects to tlie denounced wanderers.* They seem to have 
had the address. to recover their credit with the succeeding 
government ; for, in 1553, the writ wliich passed the privy 
seal in 1540, forming a sort of league with " JohnFaw, Lord 
and Earl of Little Egypt," was renewed by Hamilton, Earl 
of xirran, then Regent during tlie minorit}" of Queen Mary. 
McLaurin, in his criminal trials, when speaking of John 
Faw, gravely calls him " tliis peer." " There is a writ," 
says he, " of the same tenor in favour of this peer from Queen 
Mary, same record, 25 April, 1553 ; and 8 April, 1554, he 
gets remission for the slaughter of Ninian Small." In Black- 
wood's Magazine it is mentioned tliat " Andro Faw, Captain 
of the Egyptians,t and twelve of his gang specified by name, 
obtained a remission for the slaughter of Ninian Small, com- 
mitted within the town of Linton, in the month of March 
last by past upon suddenly." This appears to be the slaugh- 
ter to which McLaurin alludes. The following are the 
names of these thirteen Gipsies : " Andro Faw, captain of 
the Egyptians, George Faw, Robert Faw, and Anthony Faw, 
his sons, Johnne Faw, Andrew George Nichoah, George 
Sebastiane Colyne, George Colyne, Julie Colyne, Jolmne 
Colyne, James Haw, Johnne Browne, and George Browne, 
Egyptians." 

From the edict above mentioned, it is evident that the 
Gipsies in Scotland, at tliat time, were allowed to punish the 
criminal members of their own tribe, according to their own 

* It is perfectly evident that the severe decree of James V against the 
Gipsies arose from the personal insult alluded to, owing to the circumstance 
of its falling to the ground after his death, and the Gipsies recovering their 
position with his successor. Apart from what the Gipsies themselves say 
on this subject, the ordinary tradition may be assumed to be well founded. 
If the Gipsies were spoken to on the subject of the insult offered to the 
king, they would naturally reply, that they did not know, from his having 
been dressed like a beggar, that it was the king ; an excuse whicli the court, 
knowing his majesty's vagabond habits, would probably receive. But It 
is very likely that John Faw would declare that the guilty parties were 
those reb(^ls whom he was desirous «to catch, and take home with him to 
Egypt ! This Gipsy king seems to have been a master of diplomacy. — Ed. 

•j- The Gipsy chiefs were jj.'irtial to the tiile of Captain ; arising, 1 isupposo, 
from their being leaders of hirge bands of young men employed in theft 
and robbery. [In Spain, ?uch (iipsy chiefs, according to Mr. Borrow, as- 
Bumed the name of Counts. — Ed.] 



108 A BISTORT OF TUB GIPSIES. 

peculiar laws, customs and usages, without molestation. And 
it cannot be supposed that the ministers of three or four suc- 
ceeding- monarchs would have suffered their sovereigns to be 
so much imposed on, as to allow them to put their names to 
public documents, styling poor and miserable wretches, as 
we at the present day imagine them to have been, " Lords 
and Earls of Little Egypt." Judging from the accounts 
which tradition has handed down to us, of the gay and fash- 
ionable appearance of the principal Gipsies, as late as about 
the beginning of the eighteenth century, as will be seen in 
my account of the Tweed-dale bands, I am disposed to be- 
lieve that Anthonius Gawino, in 1506, and John Faw, in 
1540, would personally, as individuals, that is, as Gipsy 
Rajahs,'^ have a very respectable and imposing appearance 
in the eyes of the officers of the crown. And besides, John 
Faw appears to have been possessed of " divers sums of 
money, jewels, clothes and other goods, to the quantity of a 
great sum of money ;" and it would seem that some of the 
officers of high rank in the household of our kings had fin- 
gered the cash of the Gipsy pilgrims. If there is any truth 
in the popular and uniform tradition that, in the seventeenth 
century, a Countess of Cassilis was seduced from her duty 
to her lord, and carried off by a Gipsy, of the name of John 
Faa, and his band, it cannot be imagined, that the seducer 
would be a poor, wretched, beggarly Tinkler, such as many 
of the tribe are at this day. If a handsome person, elegant 
apparel, a lively disposition, much mirth and glee, and a con- 
stant boasting of extraordinary prowess, would in any 
way contribute to make an impression on the heart of the 
frail countess, these qualities, I am disposed to think, would 
not be wanting in the " Gipsy Laddie." And, moreover, 
John Faw bore, on paper at least, as high a title as her 
husband. Lord Cassilis, from whom she absconded. It is 
said the individual who seduced the fair lady was a Sir 
John Faw, of Dunbar, her former sweetheart, and not a 
Gipsy ; but tradition gives no account of a Sir John Faw, of 
Dunbar.f The Falls, merchants, at Dunbar, were descended 
from the Gipsy Faas of Yetholm. 

* Kajnh — The Scottish Gipsy word for a chief, governor, or prince. 

+ The author, (Mr. Finlay,) who chiims a Sir John Faw, of Dunbar, to 
have been the person who carried off the Countess of Cassilis, g-ives no au- 
thority, as a writer in Blackwood says, in support of his assertion. Nor 
does he accoun/ for a person of that name being any other than a Gipsy. 



SCOTTISH GIPSIES. 109 

It is pretty clear that the Gipsies remained in Scotland, 
with little molestation, from 1506 till 1579 — the year in 
which James VI took the government into his own hands, 
being a period of about seventy-three years, during wliicli 
time these wanderers roamed up and down the kingdom, 
without receiving any check of consequence, excepting tlie 
short period — probably about one year — in which the severe 
order of James V remained in force, and which, in all pro- 
bability, expired with the king.* 

The civil and religious contests in which the nation had 
been long engaged, particularly during the reign of Queen 
Mary, produced numerous swarms of banditti, who commit- 
ted outrages in every part of the country. The slighter de- 
predations of the Gipsy bands, in the midst of the fierce and 
bloody quarrels of the different factions that generally pre- 
vailed tliroughout the kingdom, would attract but little at- 
tention, and the Gipsies would thereby escape the punishment 
which their actions merited. But the government being 
more firmly established, by the union of the difi'erent parties 
who distracted the country, and the king assuming the su- 
preme authority, which all acknowledged, vigorous measures 
were adopted for suppressing the excess of strolling vaga- 
bonds of erery description. In the very year the king was 
placed at the head of afi'airs, a law was passed, " For punish- 
ment of strong and idle beggars, and relief of the poor and 
impotent." 

Against the Gipsies this sweeping statute is particularly 
directed, for they are named, and some of their practices 
pointed out, in the following passage : " And that it may be 

Indeed, this is hut an instance of the ignorance and prejudice of people ge- 
nerally in regard to the Gipsies. The tradition of tlie hero being a Gipsy, 
1 have met with among the English Gipsies, who even gave me the name 
of the lady. John Faw. in all probability the king of the Gipsies, who car- 
ried off the counies-, might reasonably be assumed to have been, in point 
of education, on a par with her, who, in that respect, would not, in all pro- 
bability, rise above the most humble Scotch cow- milker at the present da^^ 
whatever her personal bearing might have been. — Ed. 

* During these seventy-three j^ears of peace, the Gipsies in Scotland 
must havo multiplied prodigiously, and, in all probability, drawn much of 
the native blood into their body. iS'ot being, at that time, a proscribed 
race, but, on the contrary, honoured by leagues and covenants willi Ihe 
king himself, the ignorant public generally would have few of those objec- 
tions to intermarry with them, which they have had in subsequent times. 
The thieving habits of the Gipsies would prove no bar to such connections, 
.as the Scottish people were accustomed to tliieviug of all kinds. — En. 



110 A HI8T011Y OF TEE GIPSIES. 

known what manner of persons are meant to be strong and 
idle beggars and vagabonds, and worthy of the punishment 
before specified, it is declared that all idle persons going 
about the country of this realm, using subtle, crafty and un- 
lawful plays — as jugglery, fast-and-loose, and such others, the 
idle people calling themselves Egyptians, or any other that 
fancy themselves to have knowledge of prophecy, charming, 
or other abused sciences, whereby they persuade tlie people 
that they can tell their weirds, deaths, and fortunes, and 
such other fantastical imaginations."* And the following is 
the mode prescribed for punishing the Gipsies, and the other 
offenders associated with them in this act of parliament : 
" That such as make themselves fools and are hairds, (strol- 
ling rhymers,) or other such like runners about, being appre- 
hended, shall be put in the king's ward, or irons, so long as 
they have any goods of their own to live on, and if they have 
not whereupon to live of their own, that their ears be nailed 
to the tron or other tree, and cut off, and (themselves) ban- 
ished the country ; and if thereafter they be found again, 
that they be hanged."t 

This statute was ratified and confirmed in the 12th par- 
liament of James YI, cap. 147, 5tli June, 1592, wherein the 
incorrigible Gipsies are again referred to : " And for the 
better trial of common sorners (forcible obtruders,) vaga- 
bonds, and masterful beggars, fancied fools, and counterfeit 
Egyptians, and to the effect that they may be still pre- 
served till they be compelled to settle at some certain 
dwelling, or be expelled forth of the country, &c" 
The next law in which the Gipsies are mentioned, with 
other vagabonds, was passed in the 15th parliament of the 
same reign, 19th December, 1597, entitled, " Strong beg- 
gars, vagabonds, and Egyptians should be punished." The 
statute itself reads as follows : " Our sovereign lord and es- 
tates of parliament ratify and approve the acts of parliament 

* In this act of parliament are denounced, along with the Gipsies, " all 
minstrels, songsters, and tale-tellers, not avowed by special lieence of some 
of the lords of parliament or great barons, or by the high burghs and 
cities, for their common minstrels." " All vagabond scholars (/) of the uni- 
versities of St, Andrews, Glasgow, and Aberdeen, not licenced by the rector 
and dean of faculty to ask alinft." It would seem, from this last extract, 
that the Scottish Universities granted diplomas to their students to beg 1 
The Gipsies were associated or classed with good company at this time. 
But beggar students, or student-beggars, were common in other parts of 
Europe during that age. — Ed. 

f Glendook's Scots Acts, James VI, 6th Par. cap. 74— 20th Oct. 1579. 



SCOTTISH GIPSIES. lit 

made before, against strong and idle beggars, vagabonds, 
and Egyptians," with this addition : " That strong beggars 
and their children be employed in common works, and their 
service mentioned in tlie said act of parliament, in the year 
of God, 1579, to be prorogate in during their life times, <fec."^ 
All the foregoing laws were again ratified and enforced 
by another act, in the same reign, 15th November, 1600. 
The following extract will serve to give some ex|)lanation 
how these statutes were neglected, and seldom put in force : 
" And how the said acts have received little or no effect or 
execution, by the oversight and negligence of the persons 
who were nominated justices and commissioners, for putting 
of the said acts to full and due execution, so that the strong 
and idle beggars, being for the most part thieves, bairds, 
(strolling rhymers,) and counterfeit Iwimers, (scoundrels,) 
living most insolently and ungodly, without marriage or bap- 
tism, are suffered to vaig and wander throughout the whole 
country.^t " But," says Baron Hume, " all ordinary means 
having proved insufficient to restrain so numerous and so 
sturdy a crew, the privy council at length, in June, 160 J, 
were induced to venture on the more effectual expedient, 
(recommended by the example of some other realm,) of at 
once ordering tlie whole race to leave the kingdom by a cer- 
tain day, and never to return under the pain of death.J A 
few years after, this proclamation was converted into per- 

* By the above, and subsequent statutes, in the reign of James VI, 
" Coal and salt-masters might apprehend, and put to labour, all vagabonds 
and sturdy beggars." The truth is, these kidnapped individuals and their 
children were made slaves of to these masters. The colliers were emanci- 
pated only within these fifty years. It has been stated to me that some of 
the colliers in the Lothians are of Gipsy extraction. [Our author might 
have said Gipsies; for being " of Gipsy extraction," and " Gipsies," are ex- 
pressions quite synonymous, notwithstanding the application by the public 
of the latter term to the more original kind of Gipsies only. — Ei>.] 

f If Fletcher of Saltoun be correct, when he states that, in his time, which 
was about the end of the l^th century, there were two hundred thousand 
people, (about one-fifth of the whole population,) begging from door to door 
in Scotland, it would be a task of no little difficulty, for those in power, to 
put in force the laws against the Gipsies, and vagabonds generally. The 
editor of Dr. Pennicuick's history of Tweed-dale thinks Fletcher's is an 
over-charged picture. Some are of opinion that, when he made his state- 
ment, he included the greater part of the inhabitants of the Scottish Border, 
and also those in the north of Scotland ; for, he said, the Hii^hlands " was an 
inexliaustible source of beggars," and wislied those banditti transplanted 
to the low country, and to people the Highlands from hence. 

X The records in which this order is contained are lost. 



112 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

petual law, by statute 1609, cap. 13, with this farther conve- 
nient, but very severe, provision toward the more effectual 
execution of the order, that it should be lawful to condemn 
and execute them to the death, upon proof made of the single 
fact ' that they are called, known, repute and holden Eoryp- 
tians' !" As this is the only statute exclusively relating to, 
and denouncing, the Gipsies, I shall give it at length. 

"13. Act anent the Egyptians. Our sovereign lord and 
estates of parliament ratify, approve, and perpetually con- 
firm the act of secret council, made in the month of June or 
thereby, 1603 years, and proclamation following thereupon, 
commanding the vagabonds, 5or?i€7'5 (forcible obtruders), and 
common thieves, commonly called Egyptians, to pass forth 
of this kingdom, and remain perpetually forth thereof, and 
never to return within the same, under pain of death ; and 
that the same have force and execution after the first day 
of August next to come. After the which time, if any of 
the said vagabonds, called Egyptians, as well women as 
men, shall be found within this kingdom, or any part there- 
of, it shall be lawful to all his majesty's good subjects, or 
any one of them, to cause take, apprehend, imprison, and 
execute to death the said Egyptians, either men or women, 
as common, notorious, and condemned thieves, by one assize 
only to be tried, that they are called, known, repute and 
holden Egyptians : In the which cause, whosoever of tlie 
assize happen to denge (exculpate) any of the aforesaid 
Egyptians pannelled, as said is, shall be pursued, handled 
and censured as committers of wilful error : And whoever 
shall, any time thereafter, reset, receive, supply, or entertain 
any of the said Egyptians, either men or women, shall lose 
their escheat, and be warded at the judge's will : And that 
the sheriffs and magistrates, in whose bounds they shall pub- 
licly and avowedly resort and remain, be called before the 
lords of his highness' secret council, and severely censured 
and punished for their negligence in execution of this act : 
Discharging all letters, protections, and warrants whatsoever, 
purchased by the said Egyptians, or any of them, from his 
majesty or lords of secret council, for their remaining within 
this realm, as surreptitiously and deceitfully obtained by 
their knowledge : Annulling also all warrants purcliascd, 
or hereafter to be purchased, by any subject of whatsoever 
rank within this kingdom, for their reset, entertaining, or 



SCOTTISH GIPSIES. 113 

doing any manner of favour to the said Egyptians, at any 
time after the said first day of August next to come, for now 
and ever.""^ In a subsequent enactment, in 1617, appoint- 
ing justices of the peace and constables, the destruction of 
the proscribed Egyptians is particularly enjoined, in defin- 
ing the different duties of the magistrates and their peace 
officers.t 

But so little respected was the authority of the govern- 
ment, that in 1612, three years after the passing of the 
Gipsy act, his majesty was under the humiliating necessity 
of entering into a contract with the clan Scott, and their 
friends, by which the clan bound themselves " to give up all 
bands of friendship, kindness, oversight, maintenance or as- 
surance, if any we have, with common thieves and broken 
clans, &c." It is certain there would be many bonds of the 
same nature with other turbulent clans throughout the king- 
dom. That Scotchmen of respectability and influence pro- 
tected the Gipsies, and afforded them shelter on their lands, 
after the promulgation of the cruel statute of 1609, is mani- 
fest from the following passages, wliich I extract from Black- 
wood's Magazine, for 1817 ; the conductor of which seems 
to have been careful in examining the public records for the 
documents quoted by him ; having been guided in his re- 
searches, I believe, by Sir Walter Scott. 

"In February, 1615, we find a remission under the privy 
seal, granted to William Auchterlony, of Cayrine, for re- 
setting of John Faw and his followers.j On the 4th July, 
1616, the sheriff of Forfar is severely reprimanded for delay- 
ing to execute some Gipsies, who had been taken within his 
jurisdiction, and for troubling the council with petitions in 
their behalf. In November following appears a proclama- 
tion against Egyptians and their resetters. In December, 
1619, we find another proclamation against resetters of them ; 

* Glendook's Scots Act. f lb. 

X The nature of this crime in Scotch law is fully explained in the follow- 
ing extract fn^m the original, which also appears curious in other respects. 
The pardon is granted " pro receptione, supportatione, et detentione supra 
terra suas de Belmadie, et infra eius habilationis domum, alinq. edificia 
eiusdem, Joannis Fall, Ethiopis, lie Ef/iptimi, eiusq. uxoris, puerorum, scr- 
vorum et associatorum ; Necnon pro ministrando ipsis cibum, potuni. pccvi- 
nias, hospiciinn, aliaq. necessaiia, quocunq. tempore vel occasione preterita, 
contra acta nostri Parliamenti vel secret! coiicilii, vel contra quecunq. leges, 
alia acta, aut constitutiones huius nostri rogni Scotitc in contrarium facta. 
Regist. eecreti sigilli vol. Ixxxiii, fol. 291, Ulackwvod's Magazine. — Ei>. 



114 A HIS TOBY OF THE GIPSIES. 

iu April, 1620, another proclamation of the same kind, and 
in July, 1620, a commission against resetters, all with very 
severe penalties. The nature of these acts will be better 
understood from the following extract from that of the 4th 
July, 1616, which also very well explains the way in which 
the Gipsies contrived to maintain their footing in the coun- 
try, in defiance of all the efforts of the legislature to extir- 
pate them." " It is of truth that the thieves and limmers 
(scoundrels), aforesaid, having for some short space after the 
said act of parliament, (1609,) . . . dispersed them- 
selves in certain secret and obscure places of the country. . 
they were not known to wander abroad in troops and com- 
panies, according to their accustomed manner, yet, shortly 
thereafter, finding that the said act of parliament was neg- 
lected, and that no enquiry nor . . . was made for 
them, they began to take new breath and courage, and . . 
unite themselves in infamous companies and societies, under 
. . . . commanders, and continually since then have re- 
mained within the country, committing as well open and 
avowed rieffis (robberies) in all parts .... murders, 
. . . pleine stoutlie (common theft.) and pickery, where 
they may not be mastered ; and they do shamefully and mis- 
chievously abuse the simple and ignorant people, by telling 
fortunes, and using charms, and a number of juggling tricks 
and falseties, unworthy to be heard of iu a "country subject 
to religion, law, and justice ; and they are encouraged to 
remain within the country, and to continue in their thievish 
and juggling tricks and falseties, not only through default 
of the execution of the said act of parliament, but, what is 
worse, that great numbers of his majesty^s subjects, of wliom 
some outwardly pretend to be famous and unspotted gentle- 
men, have given and give open and avowed protection, reset, 
supply and maintainance, upon their grounds and lands, to 
the said vagabonds, sorners, (forcible obtruders,) and con- 
demned thieves and limmers. (scoundrels,) and suffer them to 
remain days, weeks, and months together thereupon, without 
controulment, and with connivance and oversight, <fec." " So 
they do leave a foul, infamous, and ignominious spot upon 
them, their houses, and posterity, that they are patrons to 
thieves and limmers, (scoundrels,)'' c%c.* 

* The same state of things existed in Spain. Charles If, passed a law 
on the 12th June, 161)5, the 16th article of which, as given by Mr. Borrow, 



SCOTTISH GIPSIES. 115 

Fiom their first arrival in the country till 1579, the Gip- 
sies, as already mentioned, appear to have been treated as a 
separate people, observing their own laws and customs. In 
the year 1587, such was the state of society in Scotland, 
that laws were passed by James YI, compelling all the 
baronial proprietors of lands, chiefs and captains of clans, 
on the Borders and Highlands of Scotland, to find pledges 
and securities for the peaceable conduct of their retainers, 
tenants, clansmen, and other inhabitants of their respective 
estates and districts.* In the same parliament another act 
was passed, allowing vagabonds and broken and unpledged 
men to produce pledges and securities for their good con- 
duct. The Gipsies, under these statutes, would remain un- 
molested, as they would readily find protection by becoming, 
nominally, clansmen, and assuming the surnames, of those 
chieftains and noblemen who were willing and able to afford 
them protection.t Indeed, the act allowing vagabonds to 
find sureties would include the Gipsy bands, for, about this 

enacts : " And because we understand that the continuance of tliose who 
are called Gitanos has depended on the favour, protection, and assistance 
which they have experienced from persons of different stations, we do ordain 
that whosoever against wliom shall be proved the fact of having, since the 
day of the publication hereof, favoured, received, or assisted the said 
Gitanos, in any manner whatever, whether within their houses or without, 
provided he is a noble, shall be subjected to the fine of six thousand ducats, 
. . . and if a plebeian, to &. punishtnent of ten years in the galleys." 
Such an enactment would surely prove that the Gipsies in Spain were 
greatly favoured by the Spanish people generally, even two centuries after 
they entered the country. 

The causes to which may be attributed this toleration, even encourage- 
ment, of the Gipsies, are various. Among these may be mentioned a fear 
of consequences to person and property, tinkering, trafficking and amuse- 
ment, and corruption on the part of those in power. But in the character 
of the Gipsies itself may be found a general cause for their escaping the 
effects of the laws passed against them, viz., wheedling. The term Gitaao 
has heen variously modified in the Spanish language, thus: 

Gitano, Gipsy, flatterer ; Gitanillo, a little Gipsy ; Gitanismo, the Gipsy 
tribe ; Gitanesco, Gipsy-like ; Gitanear, to flatter, entice ; Gitaneria, wheed' 
ling, flattery ; Gitanamente, in a sly, winning manner ; Gitanada, blandish- 
ment, wheedling, flattery. — Ed. 

* There were 17 clans on the Borders, and 34 clans in the Highlands, 
who appear to have had chiefs and captains over them. There were 22 
baronial proprietors connected witli the Borders, and 106 connected with 
the Highlands, named in a roll, who were likewise ordered to find pledges. 
— Glendook's Scots Acts. 

\ It sometimes happened, when an internal quarrel took place in a clan, 
portions of the tribe left their chief, and united themselves to another, whose 
name they assumed^ and dropped their original one. 



110 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

period, they seem to have been only classed witli our own 
native vagabonds, moss-troopers. Border and Highland 
thieves, broken clans and masterless men. It appears by 
the act of 1609, that the Gipsies had even purcliased their 
protection from the government. The inhabitants of Scot- 
land being at this period still divided into clans, would 
greatly facilitate the escape of the Gipsies from tlie laws 
passed against them. The clans on the Borders and High- 
lands were in a state of almost constant warfare with one 
another ; and frequently several of the clans were united in 
opposition to the regular government of the country, to 
whose mandates they paid little or no regard. The Gipsies 
had no settled residence, but roamed from place to place 
over the whole country ; and when they found themselves 
in danger in one place, they had no more to do but remove 
into the district inhabited by a hostile clan, where tliey 
would immediately find protection. Besides, tlie Borderers 
and Highlanders, themselves plunderers and thieves, would 
not be very active in apprehending their brother thieves, 
the Gipsies. Even, according to Holinshed, " the poison of 
theft and robbery pervaded almost all classes of the Scot- 
tish community about this period." 

The excessive severity of the sanguinary statute of 1609, 
and the unrelenting manner in which it was often carried 
into effect, were calculated to produce a great outward 
change on the Scottish Gipsies. Like stags selected from a 
herd of deer, and doomed to be hunted down by dogs, these 
wanderers were now singled out, and separated from the 
community, as objects to whom no mercy was to be shown.* 
The word Egyptian would never be allowed to escape their 
lips ; not a syllable of their peculiar speech would be uttered, 
unless in the midst of their own tribe. It is also highly 
probable that every part of their dress by which their fra- 
ternity could be recognized, would be carefully discontinued. 
To deceive the public, they would also conform externally 
to some of the religious rites, ceremonies, observances, and 

* The reader will see that the Gipsies, at this time, were not greater 
" vagabonds" than great numbers of native Scotch, if as great. But, being 
strangers in the countrj^ sojourners according to their own account, the 
king would naturally enough banish them, as they seem always to have 
been saying that they were about leaving for " their own country." Their 
living in tents, a mode of life so different from that of ihe natives, would, 
of itself, make them obnoxious to the king personally. — Kd. 



SCOTTISH GIPSIES. 117 

other customs of tlie natives of Scotland. I ara further in- 
clined to think that it would be about this period, and chiefly 
in consequence of these bloody enactments, the Gipsies 
would, in general, assume the ordinary christian and sur- 
names common at tliat time in Scotland. And their usual 
sagacity pointed out to them the advantages arising from 
taking the cognomens of the most powerful families in 
the kingdom, whose influence would afford them ample 

Protection, as adopted members of their respective clans, 
n support of my opinion of the origin of the surnames of 
the Gipsies of the present day, we find that the most pre- 
vailing names among them are those of the most influential 
of our noble families of Scotland ; such as Stewart, Gordon, 
Douglas, Graham, Ruthven, Hamilton, Drummond, Kennedy, 
Cunningham, Montgomery, Kerr, Campbell, Maxwell, John- 
stone, Ogilvie, McDonald, Robertson, Grant, Baillie, Shaw, 
Burnet, Brown, Keith, &c.'^ If, even at the present day, 
you enquire at the Gipsies respecting their descent, the 
greater part of them will tell you that they are sprung 
from a bastard son of this or that noble family, or other 
person of rank and influence, of their own surname.t This 
pretended connexion with families of liigh rank and power 
has saved some of the tribe from the gallows even in our own 
time. The names, however, of the two principal families, 
Faw, (now Faa,) and Bailyow, (now Baillie,) appear not to 
have been changed since the date of the order in council or 
league with James V, in the year 1540, as both of these 
names are inserted in that document. 

Baron Hume, on the criminal law of Scotland, gives the 

* The English Gipsies say that native names were assumed by their 
race in consequence of the proscription to which it was subjected. German 
Gipsies, on arrival in America, change, at least modify, tlieir names. Thero 
are many of them who go under the names of Smith. Miller, and Wag^ 
goner. Jews frequently bear names common to the natives of the countries 
in which they are to be found, and sometimes, at the present day, assume 
Christian ones. I knew two German Jews, of the name of Cohen, who 
settled in Scotland. One of them, who was a priest, retained the original 
name ; but the other, who was a watchmaker, assumed the name of Cowan, 
which, singularly enough, the priest said, was a corruption of Cohen. — Ei>. 

f It is stated by Paget, in his Travels in Hungary, that the Gipsies in 
that country have a profound regard for aristocracy; anrl that they inva- 
riably follow that class in the matter of religious opinions. Grellniarui 
says as much in regard to the Gipsy's desire of getting hold of a distin- 
guished old coat to put on his person. — Ed. 



118 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

following account of some of the trials and executions of 
the Gipsies : 

" The statute (1609) annuls at the same time all protection 
and warrants purchased by the Egyptians from his majesty's 
privy council, for their remaining within the realm ; as also 
all privileges purchased by any person to reset, entertain, or 
do them any favour. It appears, indeed, from a paper in 
the appendix to McLaurin's Cases, that even the king's ser- 
vants and great officers liad not kept their hands entirely 
pure of this sort of treaty with the Egyptian chiefs, from 
whom some supply of money might in this way be occasion- 
ally obtained. 

" The first Gipsies that were brought to trial on the 
statute, were four persons of the name of Faa, who, on the 
31st July, 1611, were sentenced to be hanged. They had 
pleaded upon a special license from tlie privy council, to 
abide within the country ; but this appearing to be clogged 
with a condition of finding surety for their appearance 
when called on, and their surety being actually at the horn, 
for failure to present themselves, they were held to have in- 
fringed the terms of their protection. 

" The next trial was on the 19th and 24th July, 1616, in 
the case of other two Faas and a Baillie, (which seem to 
have been noted names among the Gipsies ;) and here was 
started that plea which has since been repeated in almost 
every case, but has always been overruled, viz : that the act 
and proclamation were temporary ordinances, and applicable 
only to such Egyptians as were in the country at their date. 
These pannels, upon conviction, were ordered by the privy 
council to find caution to the extent of 1,000 merks, to leave 
Scotland and never to return ; and having failed to comply 
with this injunction, they were in consequence condemned to 
die. 

" In January, 1624, follows a still more severe example ; 
no fewer than eight men, among whom Captain Jolin Faa 
and other five of the name of Faa, being convicted, were 
doomed to death on the statute. Some days after, there 
were brought to trial Helen Faa, relict of Captain Faa, 
Lucretia Faa, and other women to the number of eleven ; all 
of whom were in like manner convicted, and condemned to 
be drowned ! But, in the end, their doom was commuted 
for banishment, (under pain of death,) to them and all their 



SCOTTISH GIPSIES. 119 

race. The sentence was, however, executed on the male 
convicts ; and it appears that the terror of their fate had 
been of material service ; as, for the space of more than 50 
years from that time, there is no trial of an Egyptian." 

But notwithstanding this statement of Baron Hume, of 
the Gipsy trials having ceased for half a century, we find, 
twelve years after 1624, the date of the above trials, the 
following order of the privy council : "Anent some Egyptians. 
At Edinburgh, 10th November, 1636. Forasmuch as Sir 
Arthur Douglas of Quhittinghame having lately taken and 
apprehended some of the vagabond and counterfeit thieves 
and Ummers, (scoundrels,) called the Egyptians, he presented 
and delivered them to the sheriff principal of the sheriffdom 
of Edinburgh, within the constabulary of Haddington, 
where they have remained this montli or thereby : and 
wjiereas the keeping of them longer, within the said tolbooth, 
is troublesome and burdensome to the town of Haddington, 
and fosters the said thieves in an opinion of impunity, to 
the encouraging of the rest of that infamous hyke (hive) of 
lawless Ummers (scoundrels) to continue in their thievish 
trade : Therefore the lords of secret council ordain the 
sheriff of Haddington, or his deputies, to pronounce doom 
and sentence of death against so many of these counterfeit 
thieves as are men, and against so many of the women as 
want children ; ordaining the men to be hanged, and the 
women to be drowned ; and that such of the women as have 
children, to be scourged through the burgh of Haddington, 
and burned in the cheek ; and ordain and command the 
provost and baillies of Haddington to cause this doom be 
executed upon the said persons accordingly."* 

"Towards the end of that century," continues Baron 
Hume, " the nuisance seems to have again become trouble- 
some. On the 13th of December, 1698, John Baillie and 
six men more of the same name, along with the wife of one 
of them, were indicted as Egyptians, and also for sundry 
special misdeeds ; and being convicted, (all but the woman,) 
tliey were ordered for execution. But in this case it is to 
be remarked, that the court had so far departed from the 
rigour of the statute as not to sustain a relevancy on the 
habit and repute of being an Egyptian of itself, but only 
* along with one or other of the facts of picking and little 

* Blackwood'n Majjazine. 



120 A BISTORT OF THE GIPSIES. 

thieving ;' thus requiring some proof of actual guilt in aid 
of the fame. In the next trial, which was that of William 
Baillie, June 26th, 1699, a still further indulgence was in- 
troduced ; for the interlocutor required a proof, not of one 
only, but of several^ of the facts of ' picking or little thieving, 
or of several acts of beating and striking with invasive 
weapons/ He was only convicted as an Egyptian, and of 
one act of striking with an invasive weapon, and he escaped 
in consequence with his life. 

" This lenient course of dealing with the Gipsies was not 
taken, however, from any opinion of it as a necessary thing, 
nor was there any purpose of prescribing it as a rule for 
other times, or for further cases of the kind where such an 
indulgence might seem improper, as appears from the inter- 
locutor of relevancy in the case of John Kerr, and Helen 
Yorkston, and William Baillie and other seven ; in both of 
which the simple fame and character of being an Egyptian 
is again found separatum relevant to infer the pain of death, 
(10th and 11th August, 1714.) Kerr and Yorkston had a 
verdict in their favour ; Baillie and two of his associates 
were condemned to die ; but as far as concerns Baillie, (for 
the others were executed,) his doom was afterwards mitigated 
into transportation, under pain of death in case of return. 

"As early as the month of August, 1715, the same man, (as 
I understand it,) was again indicted, not only for being 
found in Britain, but for continuing his former practices and 
course of life. Notwithstanding this aggravation, tlie inter- 
locutor is again framed on the indulgent plan, and only in- 
fers the pain of death, from the fame and cliaracter of being 
an Egyptian, joined with various acts of violence and sorn- 
ing, to the number of tliree, that are stated in the libel. 
Though convicted nearly to the extent of tlie interlocutor, 
he again escaped with transportation.* 

" Nor have I observed tliat the court, in any later case, 
have thought it necessary to proceed upon the repute alone, 
unavouched by evidence of, at least, one act of theft or vio- 
lence ; so that, upon the whole, according to the practice of 
later times, this sort of charge seems to be reduced nearly 
to the level of the charge of being habit and repute a thief 
at common law." 

* This, and part of the preceding paragraph, will be quoted again, under 
the chapter of Tweed-dale and Clydesdale Gipsies. 



SCOTTISH GIPSIES, 121 

It is noticed by Baron Hume that the Faas and tlie Bail- 
lies were noted names among the Gipsies. Indeed, the 
trials referred to by him are all of persons bearing these two 
surnames, except two individuals only. The truth is, the 
Faas and the Baillies were tlie two principal families among 
the Gipsies ; giving, according to their customs, kings and 
queens to their countrymen in Scotland. They would be 
more bold, daring, and presumptuous in their conduct than 
the most part of their followers ; and, being leaders of the 
banditti, government, in all probability, would fix upon them 
as the most proper objects for destruction, as the best and 
easiest method of overawing and dispersing the whole tribe 
in the country, by cutting off their cliiefs. As I liave already 
mentioned, these two principal clans of Faw and Bailyow 
appear to be the only Gipsy families in Scotland wlio have 
retained the original surnames of their ancestors, at least of 
those whose names are inserted in the treaty with James V, 
in 1540. 

It will be seen, under the head Tweed-dale and Clydesdale 
Gipsies, that tradition has represented William Baillie, who 
was tried in 1714 and L715, as a bastard son of the ancient 
family of Lamington, (his mother being a Gipsy). It appears 
to me that the Gipsy policy of joining themselves to some 
family of rank was, in Baillie's case, of very important ser- 
vice, not only to himself but to the whole tribe in Scotland.* 

* From the time of arrival of the Gipsies in the country, in 1506, till 
1611, the date of the first trials of the tribe, as j:^iven by Baron Hume, a 
period of 105 years had elapsed ; during which time there had doubtless 
been five generations of Gipsies added to the population, as Scottish subjects ; 
to put whom to death, on the mere ground of being Egyptians, was con- 
trary to every principle of natural justice. The cruelty exercised upon 
them was quite in keeping with that of reducing to slavery the indiv iduals, 
and their descendants, who constituted the colliers, coal-bearers, and saltcrs 
referred to in the following interesting note, to be found in " My Schools 
and Schoolmasters," of Hugh Miller. 

" The act for manumitting our Scotch colliers was passed in the year 
1775, forty-nine years prior to the date of my acquaintance with the class of 
Niddry, But though it was only such colliers of the village as were in 
tlieir fiftieth year when I knew them, (with, of course, all the older ones,) 
wlio had been born slaves, even its men of thirty had actually, though not 
nominally, come into the world in a state of bondage, in consequence of 
certain penalties attached to the emanci})ation act. of whicli the ))()or igno- 
rant workers under ground were both too im|.rovident and too little inge- 
nious to keep clear. They were set free, however, by a second act passed 
in 1799. The Innguagc of both these acts, regarded as British ones of the 
latter half of the last centui'y, and as bearing reference to British subjects 

6 



122 A BISTORT OF THE GIPSIES. 

The extraordinary lenity shown to him by the court, after 
such repeated aggravation, cannot be accounted for in any 
other way than that great interest had been used in his be- 
half, in some quarter or other ; and that, by creating a mer- 
ciful precedent in his case, it was afterwards followed in the 
trial of all others of the race in Scotland. 

living within the limits of the island, strikes with startling effect. ' THiere- 
as,' says the preamble of the older act — that of 1775 — ' by the statute law of 
Scotland, as explained by the judges of the courts of law there, many col- 
liers, and coal-bearers, and salters, are in a state of slavery or bondage, 
bound to tl)e collieries or salt works, where they work /w life, trartaferable 
with the collieries or salt works ; and whereas, the emancipation/ Ac, <tc. A 
passage in the preamble of the act of 1799 is scarcely less striking: it de- 
clares that, notwithstanding the former act, ' many colliers and coal-bearers 
still continue in a state of bondage' in Scotland. The history of our Scotch 
colliers would be found a curious and instructive one. Their slavery seems 
not to have been derived from the ancient time of general serfship, but to- 
have originated in comparatively modern acts of the Scottish Parliament, 
and in decisions of the Court of Session — in acts of Parliament in which 
the poor ignorant subterranean men of the country were, of course, whoUy 
unrepresented, and in decisions of a court in which no agent of theirs ever 
made appearance in their behalf." 

What is here said of a history of Scotch coUiers being " curious and in- 
structive," is applicable in an infinitely greater degree to that of the Gip- 
sies. — Ed. 



CHAPTER IV. 

LINLITHGOWSHIRE GIPSIES.* 

The Gipsies who frequented the banks of the Forth, and 
the counties northward, appear to have been more daring 
than those who visited some other parts of Scotland. 

Within these sixty years, a large horde, of very desperate 
character, resided on the banks of the Avon, near the burgh 
of Linlithgow. At first, they quartered higher up on the 
Stirling side of the stream, at a place called Walkmilton ; 
but latterly they took up their abode in some old houses, on 
the Linlithgow side of the river, at or near the bridge of 
Linlithgow. 

These Gipsies displayed much sagacity in carrying on their 
trade, by selecting the neighbourhood of Falkirk and Lin- 
lithgow for their headquarters, as this was, perhaps, the most 
advantageous position in all Scotland that a Gipsy band 
could occupy. The district was of itself very populous, and 
a very considerable trade and bustle then existed at the port 
of Bo'ness, in the vicinity. All the intercourse between 
Edinburgh and Glasgow passed a few miles to the south of 
their quarters. The traffic, by carts, between Glasgow and 
the west of Scotland, and the shipping at Carron-shore, El- 
phingston-Pow and Airth, on tlie Forth, before the canal was 
cut, was immense ; all which traffic, as well as that between 
Fife and the western districts, passed a few miles north of 

* This and the following three chapters are illustrative of the Gipsies, in 
their wild state, previous to their gradual settlement and civilization, and 
are applicable to the same class in every part of the world. Chapter VI, 
on the Gipsies of Tweed-dale and Clydesdale, might have been taken the 
first in order, as descriptive of the tribe in its more primitive condition, 
but I have allowed it to remain where it. stands, A description of the 
habits peculiar to the race will be found, more or less, in all of tliese chap- 
ters, where they can be consulted, for the better identification of the facts 
given.^Eo. 

(123) 



134 A EISTORY OF THE GIPSIES, 

their position. The road for travellers and cattle from the 
Highlands, by way of Stirling, crossed the above-mentioned 
roads, and led, through Falkirk and Linlithgow, to Edin- 
burgh, the eastern and southern counties of Scotland, and 
England. 

The principal surnames of this Gipsy band were McDon- 
ald, Jamieson, Wilson, Gordon and Lundie. Frequently the 
number that would assemble together would amount to up- 
wards of thirty souls, and it was often observed that a great 
many females and children were seen loitering about their 
common place of residence. No protection was given- by 
them to our native vagrants, nor were any of our common 
plunderers, vagabonds, or outlaws suffered to remain among 
them. When at home, or traversing the country, the trade 
and occupation of this band were exactly the same as those 
of their friends in other parts of Scotland, viz ': making wool- 
cards, cast-iron soles for ploughs, smoothing-irons, horn 
spoons, and repairing articles in the tinker line. The old 
females told fortunes, while the women in general assisted 
their husbands in their work, by blowing the bellows, scrap- 
ing and polishing the spoons with glass and charred wood, 
and otherwise completing their articles for sale. Many of 
the males dealt in horses, with which they frequented fairs 
— that great resort of the Gipsies ; and these wanderers, in 
general, were considered excellent judges of horses. Num- 
bers of them were fiddlers and pipers, and the tribe often 
amused themselves with feasting and dancing.* 

Like their race generally, these Gipsies were extremely 
civil and obliging to their immediate neighbours, and those 
who lived nearest to their quarters, and had the most inter- 
course with them, in the ordinary affairs of life, were the 
least afraid of them.f But the farmers and others at a dis- 

* It appears that, at this period, James Wilson, town-piper, and John 
Livingston, hangman, of Linlithgow, were both Gipsies. [Formerly the 
Gipsies were exclusively employed in Hungary and Transylvania as hang- 
men and executioners. Grellmann. — Ed.] 

•}• This trait in the character of the Scottish Gipsies is well illustrated in 
the following anecdote, which appeared in Blackwood's Magazine. It was 
obtained by an individual who frequently heard the clergyman in question 
relate it. 

** The late Mr. Leek, minister of Yetholm, happened to be riding home 
one evening from a visit in Northumberland, when, finding himself likely 
to be benighted, for sake of a near cut, he struck into a wild, solitary track, 
or drove-road, across the fells, by a place called the Staw. In one of the 



LINLITEGOWSHIRE GIPSIES. 125 

tance, who frequented tlie markets at Falkirk, and other 
fairs in the neighbourhood, were always a plentiful harvest 
for the plundering Tinklers. Their plunderings on such 
occasions spread a general alarm over the country. But 
that good humour, mirth, and jocund disposition, peculiar to 
many of the males of the Gipsies, seldom failed to gain the 
good-will of those who deigned to converse with them with 
familiarity, or treated them with kindness. They even 
formed strong attachments to certain individuals of the com- 
munity, and afforded them protection on all occasions, giving 
them tokens to present to others of their fraternity, while 
travelling under night. Notwithstanding the good disposi- 
tion which they always showed under these circumstances, 
the fiery Tinklers often fell out among themselves, on divid- 
ing, at home, the booty which they had collected at fairs, 
and excited feelings of horror in the minds of their aston- 
ished neighbours, when they beheld the hurricanes of wrath 
and fury exhibited by both sexes, and all ages, in the heat 
of their battles. 

The children of these Gipsies attended the principal school 

derne places through which this path led him, there stood an old deserted 
shepherd's house, which, of course, was reputed to be haunted. The minis- 
ter, though little apt to be alarmed by such reports, was, however, some- 
what startled on observing, as he approached close to the cottage, a 'grim 
visage' staring out past a toindow claith, or sort of curtain, which had been 
fastened up to supply the place of a door, and also several ' dusky figures,' 
skulking among the bouttree bushes that had once sheltered the shei)herd's 
garden. Without leaving him any time for speculation, however, the knight 
of the curtain bolted forth upon him, and, seizing his horse by the bridle, 
demanded his money. Mr. Leek, though it was now dark, at once recog- 
nised the gruff voice, and the great, black, burly head of his next-door 
neighbour, Gleid Neckit Will, the Gipsy chief. ' Dear me, William,' said 
the minister, in his usual quiet manner, ' can this be you ? ye're surely no 
serious wi' me ? ye wadna sae far wrang your character for a good neigh- 
bour, for the bit trifle I ha'e lo gi'e, William?' — ' Lord saif us, Mr. Leek !' 
said Will, quitting the rein, and lifting his hat, with great respect, ' Whao 
wad hae thought o' meeting you out owrc hore-away ? Ye needna gripo 
for ony siller to me — I wadna touch aplack o' your gear, nor a liair o' your 
head, for a' the gowd o' Tividale. I ken ye'U no do v/.s an ill turn for thig 
mistak — and I'll e'en see ye safe through the eirie Staw — it's no reckoned a 
very canny bit, mair ways nor ane ; but I wat ye'll no be feared for the 
dead, and I'll tak care o' the living.^ Will accoi-dingly gave his reverend 
friend a safe convoy through the haunted pass, and, notwithstanding this 
ugly mistake, continued ever after an inoffensive and obliging neighbour to 
the minister, who, on his part, observed a prudent and inviolable secrecy 
on the subject of this rencounter, during the life lime of Gleid JS'icHt Will." 
I understand this anecdote to ajiply to old Will Faa, mentioned in the 
Border Gipsies, under chapter VIL — K©. 



136 A HIS TOBY OF THE GIPSIES. 

at Linlithgow, and not an individual at the school dared to 
cast the slightest reflection on, or speak a disrespectful word 
of, either them or their parents, although their robberies were 
everywhere notorious, yet always conducted in so artful a 
manner that no direct evidence could ever be obtained of 
tliem. Such was the fear that the audacious conduct of 
these Gipsies inspired, that the magistrates of the royal 
burgh of Linlithgow stood in awe of tliem, and were deterred 
from discharging their magisterial duties, when any matter 
relative to their conduct came before their honours. The 
truth is, the magistrates would not interfere with them at all, 
but stood nearly on the same terms with them that a tribe 
of American Indians, who worshipped the devil — not from 
any respect which they had for his Satanic majesty, but from 
being in constant dread of his diabolical machinations. Not 
a justice of the peace gave the horde the least annoyance, 
but, on the contrary, allowed them to remain in peaceable 
possession of some old, uninhabited houses, to which they 
had no right whatever. Instead of endeavouring to repress 
the unlawful proceedings of the daring Tinklers, numbers 
of the most respectable individuals in Linlithgowshire 
deigned to play at golf and other games with the principal 
members of the body. The proficiency which the Gipsies 
displayed on such occasions was always a source of interest 
to the patrons and admirers of such games. At throwing 
the sledge-hammer, casting the putting-stone, and all other 
athletic exercises, not one was a match for these powerful 
Tinklers. They were also remarkably dexterous at hand- 
ling the cudgel, at which they were constantly practising 
themselves. 

The honourable magistrates, indeed, frequently admitted 
the presumptuous Tinklers to share a social bowl with them 
at their entertainments and dinner parties. Yet these 
friends and companions of the magistrates and gentlemen of 
Linlithgowshire were no other than the occasional tenants 
of kilns, or temporary occupiers of the ground floor of some 
ruinous, half-roofed houses, without furniture, saving a few 
blankets and some straw, to prevent their persons from rest- 
ing upon the cold earth. But, nevertheless, these Gipsies 
made themselves of considerable importance, and possessed 
an influence over the minds of the community to an extent 
hardly to be credited at the present day. It was well 



LINLITHGOWSHIRE GIPSIES. 127 

known that tlie provost of Linlithgow, who was much ex- 
posed by riding at all times through the country, in the way 
of liis business as a brewer, had himself received from the 
Gipsies assurance tliat he would not be molested by the 
band, and that he was, therefore, at all times, and on all oc- 
casions, perfectly safe from being plundered. Having in 
this manner rendered the local authorities entirely passive, 
or rather neutral, from fear and interest, the audacious Gip- 
sies prosecuted their system of plunder and robbery to an 
alarming extent. 

Notwithstanding the fear which these Gipsies inspired in 
the mind of the community, there were yet individuals of 
courage who would brave them, if circumstances rendered a 
meeting with them unavoidable. None, indeed, would dream 
of wantonly molesting them, but, if brought to the pinch, 
some would not shrink from encountering them, when acting 
under the influences of those feelings which call forth the 
latent courage of even the most timid and considerate of 
people. Such a rencounter resulted in the death of the 
chief of the Linlithgow band, of the name of McDonald, to 
whom the others of the tribe gave the title of captain. 

In a dark night, a gentleman of the name of H , an 

oJBficer in the army, and a man of courage, while travelling 
on the high road, from the eastward to Stirlingshire, to visit, 
as was said, his sweetheart, had occasion to stop, for refresh- 
ment, at a public-house near the bridge of Linlithgow. The 
landlord advised him to go no further that night, owing to 
the road being " foul," meaning that the Tinklers had been 
seen lurking in the direction in which he was travelling. 
Foul or not foul, he would proceed ; his particular engage- 
ment with the lady making him reluctant to break his pro- 
mise, and turn back. He called for a gill of brandy, which 
he shared with the landlord, and deliberately loaded, in his 
presence, a brace of pistols whicli he carried about his per- 
son. His courage rose with the occasion, and he declared 
that wlioever dared to molest him should not go unpunished. 
He then mounted his horse and rode forward. On arriving 
at a place called Sandy-ford-burn, a man, in the dark, sprang 
out from the side of the road, and, laying hold of the bridle 
of his liorse, demanded his money. The horseman being on 
the alert, and quite prepared for sucli a demand, with liis 
spirits, moreover, elevated by his dram of brandy, instantly 



138 A BISTORT OF THE GIPSIES. 

replied by firing one of his pistols at the robber, who fell 
to the ground. He, however, held fast the bridle reins in 
his convulsive death grasp, and tlie horse, being urged for- 
ward, dragged him a short distance along the ground. 
Hardly had the shot been fired, ere a voice, close by, was 
heard to exclaim, " There goes our captain," while a con- 
fused cry of vengeance was uttered on all sides, against him 
by whom he had fallen. But the rider, clapping his spurs 
to his horse, instantly galloped forward, yet made a narrow 
escape, for several sliots were fired at him, which were heard 
by the landlord of the public-house which he had just left. 

The Gipsies, in this awkward predicament, carried the 
body of their chieftain home, and gave out to their neigh- 
bours, the country people, the following morning, (Sunday,) 
that he had died very suddenly of iliac passion. His lyke- 
wake was kept up in their usual manner, and great feastings 
and drinkings were held by them while his body lay unin- 
terred. After several days of carousing, the remains of the 
robber were buried in the church-yard of Linlithgow.* His 
funeral was very respectable, having been attended by the 
magistrates of Linlithgow, and a number of the most genteel 
persons in the neighbourhood. The real cause of the sud- 
den death of the Tinkler began to spread abroad, a short 
time after the burial, but no enquiry was made into the mat- 
ter. The individual who had done the public a service, by 
taking off the chief of the banditti, mentioned the circum- 
stance afterwards to his friends, and was afraid of the band 
for some time thereafter ; although it was improbable that, 
in the dark, they were able to make out, or afterwards ascer- 
tain, the person who had made himself so obnoxious to them. 

Notwithstanding this prompt and well-merited chastise- 
ment which the Gipsies received, in their leader being shot 
dead in his attempt at highway robbery, in the immediate 
vicinity of their ordinary place of rendezvous, they contin- 
ued their depredations in their usual manner, but generally 
took care, as is their custom, to give no molestation to their 

* Some of the Gipsies only put a paper cap on the head, and paper 
round the feet, of their dead ; leaving all the body bare, excepting that 
they place upon the breast, opposite the heart, a circle made of red and 
blue ribbons, in form something like the shape of the variegated cockade, 
worn in the liats of newl3'-enlisted recruits in the army. [In England it 
was customary with the Gipsies, at one time, to burn the dead, but now 
they only burn the clothes, and some of the effects of the deceased.— Ed.] 



LINLITHGOWSniRE GIPSIES. 129 

nearest neighbours. The deceased captain was succeeded, in 
the chieftainship of the tribe, by his son, Alexander Mc- 
Donald, who also assumed the title of captain. This man 
trod in the footsteps of his father in every respect, and ex- 
ercised his hereditary profession of theft and robbery, with 
an activity and audacity unequalled by any among his tribe 
in that part of Scotland. The very name of McDonald 
and his gang appalled the boldest hearts of those who ven- 
tured to travel under night with money in their pockets, in 
certain parts of the country. His band appears to have 
been very numerous, as among them some held the subordin- 
ate rank of lieutenants, as if they had been organized like 
a regular military company. James Jamieson, his brother- 
in-law, was also styled captain in this notorious band of 
Gipsies, who were connected with similar bauds in England 
and Ireland. 

McDonald and his brother-in-law, Jamieson, were con- 
sidered remarkably stout, handsome, and fine-looking men. 
By constant training at all kinds of athletic exercises, they 
brought themselves to perform feats of bodily strength and 
agility which were almost incredible. Tliey were often 
elegantly dressed in the finest clothes of the first fashion, 
with linen to correspond. At the same time they were per- 
fect chameleons in respect to their appearance and apparel. 
McDonald was frequently observed in three or four difierent 
dresses in one market-day. At one time of the day, he was 
seen completely attired in the best of tartan, assuming the 
appearance and manners of ahigliland gentleman in full cos- 
tume. At another time, he appeared ruffled at hands and 
breast, booted and spurred, on horseback, as if lie had been 
a man of some consideration. He would again be seen in a 
ragged coat, with a budget and wallet on his back — a com- 
mon travelling Tinkler. Both of these men often dealt in 
horses, and were themselves frequently mounted on the best 
of animals. The Arabians and Tartars are scarcely more 
partial to horses than the Gipsies. 

The pranks and tricks played by McDonald were numer- 
ous, and many a story is yet remembered of his extraordi- 
nary exploits. He took great pains in training and teaching 
some of his horses various evolutions and tricks. He had, 
at one time, a piebald liorse so efficiently trained, and so 
completely under his management, tliat it, in some respects, 

a* 



130 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

assisted him in his depredations. By certain signals and 
motions, he could, when he found it necessary, make it clap 
close to the ground, like a hare in its furrow. It 
would crouch down in a hollow piece of ground, in a ditch, 
or at the side of a hedge, so as to hide itself, when McDon- 
ald's situation was like to expose him to detection. With 
the assistance of one of these well trained-horses, this man, 
on one occasion, saved his wife, Ann Jamieson, from prison, 
and perhaps from the gallows. Ami was apprehended near 
Dunfermline for some of her unlawful practices. As the 
officers of the law were conducting her to prison, McDonald 
rode up to the party, and requested permission to speak 
with their prisoner, which was readily granted, as, from 
McDonald's appearance, the officers supposed he had some- 
thing to say to the woman. He then drew her aside, under 
the pretence of conversing with her in private, when, in an 
instant, Ann, with his assistance, sprang upon the horse, be- 
hind him, and bade good-bye to the messengers, who were 
amazed at the sudden and unexpected escape of their pris- 
oner. Ann was a little, handsome woman, and was con- 
sidered one of the most expert of the Scottish Gipsies at 
conducting a plundering at a fair ; and was, on that account, 
much respected by her tribe. 

McDonald and Jamieson, like others of the superior clas- 
ses of Gipsies, gave tokens of protection to their particular 
friends of the community generally. The butchers of Lin- 
lithgow, when they went to the country, with money to buy 
cattle, frequently procured these assurances from the Gip- 
sies. The shoemakers did likewise, when they had to go to 
distant markets with their shoes. Linlithgow appears even 
to have been under the special protection of tliese banditti. 
Mr. George Hart, and Mr. William Baird, two of the most 
respectable merchants of Bo'ness, who had been peddlers in 
their early years, scrupled not to say that, when travelling 
through the country, they were seldom without tokens from 
the Gipsies. But if the Gipsies were kind to those who 
kept on good terms with them, they, on the other hand, vin 
dictively tormented their enemies. They would steal sheep, 
and put the blood and parts of the animal about the premises 
of those they hated, that they might be suspected of the 
theft, searched and affronted by the enquiries made about 
the stolen property. 



LINLITHGOWSHIRE GIPSIES. 131 

When McDonald and Jamieson attacked individuals on 
the highway, or elsewliere, and were satisfied that they had 
little or no money, they were just as ready to supply their 
wants as to rob them. The idea of plundering the wealthy, 
and giving the booty to the poor, gives tlie Gipsies great 
satisfaction. The standard by which this people's conduct 
can be measured, must be sought for among the robber tribes 
of Tartary, Afghanistan, or Arabia. Many of our Scottish 
Gipsies liave, indeed, been as ready to give a purse as take 
one ; and it cannot be said that they have lacked in the dis- 
play of a certain degree of honour peculiar to themselves, 
as the following well-authenticated fact will illustrate.* 

A gentleman, whose name is not mentioned, while travel- 
ling, under niglit, between Falkirk and Linlithgow, fell in, 
on the road, with a man whom he did not know. During 
the conversation which ensued, he mentioned to the stranger 
that he was afraid of being attacked, for many a one, he ob- 
served, had been robbed on that road. He then urged that 
they should return, as tlie safest plan for them both. The 
stranger, however, replied that he had often travelled the 
road, yet had never been troubled by any one. After some 
further conversation, he put his hand into his pocket, and 
gave the traveller a knife, with which he was desired to pro- 
ceed without fear.f The traveller now perfectly understood 
the relation that existed between them, and continued his 
journey with confidence ; but he had not proceeded far ere 
he was accosted by a foot-pad, to whom he produced the 
knife. The pad looked at it carefully, said nothing, but 
passed on, without giving the traveller the slightest annoy- 
ance. It is needless to say that the mysterious stranger was 
no other than the notorious Captain McDonald. The travel- 
ler, by his fears and the nature of his conversation, had 
plainly informed McDonald of his being possessed of money 
— a considerable quantity of which he had, indeed, with him — 
and had the love of booty been the Gipsy's sole and con- 

* Instances have occurred in which an Afghan has received a stranger 
with all the rights of hospitality, and afterwards, meeting him in the open 
country, has robbed him. The same person, it is supposed, wlio would 
plunder a cloak from a traveller who had one, would give a cloak to one 
ivho had none. — Ihufh Murray s^ Asia, vol. 1, parte 508. 

\ A pen-kuife, a snuff-box, and a ring are some of the Gipsy pass-ports. 
It is what is marke 1 upon them that protects the bearer from being dis 
turbed by others of tl e tribe. 



132 A HIS TOE Y OF THE GIPSIES. 

stant object, how easily could he, in this instance, have pos- 
sessed himself of it. But the stranger had put himself, in a 
measure, under the protection of tlie robber, who disdained 
to take advantage of the confidence reposed in him. 
i/ Another instance of a Gipsy's honour, generosity, or ca- 
price, or by whatever word the act may be expressed, occur- 
red between McDonald and a farmer of the name of Campbell, 
and exhibits a singular cast of character, which has not been 
uncommon among the Scottish Gipsies. On this occasion, 
it would appear, the Gipsy had been influenced rather by a 
desire of enjoying the extraordinary surprise of the simple 
countryman, than of obtaining booty. The occurrence will 
also give some idea of the part which the cautious chiefs take 
in plundering at a fair. The particulars are derived from 
a Mr. David McRitchie, of whom I shall again make mention. 
While Campbell was on his way to a market in Perth, he 
fell in with Captain McDonald. Being unacquainted with 
the character of his fellow-traveller, the unsuspecting man 
told him, among other things, that he had just as much money 
in his pocket as would purchase one horse, for his four-horse 
plough, having other three at home. McDonald heard all 
this with patience till he came to a solitary part of the road, 
when, all at once, he turned upon the astonished farmer, and 
demanded his money. The poor man, having no alternative, 
immediately produced his purse. But in parting, the robber 
desired him to call next day at a certain house in Perth, 
where he would find a person who might be of some service 
to him. Campbell promised to do as desired, and called at 
the house appointed, and great was his surprise, when, on 
being ushered into a room, he found himself face to face with 
the late robber, sitting with a large bowl of smoking toddy 
before him. The Gipsy, in a frank and liearty manner, in- 
vited his visitor to sit down and share his toddy with him ; 
a request which he readily complied with, althougli bewil- 
dered with the idea of the probable fate of his purse, and 
the result of his personal adventure. He had scarcely got 
time, however, to swallow one glass, before he was relieved 
of his suspense, by the Gipsy returning him every farthing 
of tlie money he had robbed him of the day before. Being 
now pleased witli his good fortune, and the Gipsy pressing 
him to drink, Campbell was in no hurry to be gone, his 
spirits having become elevated with his good cheer, and the 



LINLITHGOWSHIRE GIPSIES. 133 

confidence with which his host's conduct had inspired him. 
But his suspicions returned upon him, as he saw pocket-book 
after pocket-book brought in to his entertainer, during the 
time he was enjoying his hospitality. The Gipsy chief was, 
in fact, but following a very important branch of his calling, 
and was, on that day, doing a considerable business, having 
a number of youths ferreting for him in the market, and 
coming in and going out constantly. 

But this crafty Gripsy, and his brother-in-law, Jamieson, 
were at last apprehended for house-breaking and robbery. 
Their trials took place at Edinburgh, on the 9th and 13th 
of August, 1770, and " the fame of being Egyptians " made 
part of the charge against them in the indictment ; a charge 
well founded, as both of them spoke the " right Egyptian 
language." It was the last instance, I believe, tliat the fact 
of their being " called, known, repute, and holden Egyp- 
tians," made part of the indictment against any of the tribe 
in Scotland, under the sanguinary statute of James VI, 
chap. 13, passed in 1609. So cunning are the Gipsies, how- 
ever, in committing crimes, that, in this instance, the crim- 
inals, it was understood, would have escaped justice, for want 
of sufficient proof, had not one of their own band, of the 
name of Jamieson, a youth of about twenty-two years of age, 
turned king's evidence against his associates. The two un- 
happy men were then found guilty by the jury, and con- 
demned to die. They were ordered to be executed at 
Linlithgow bridge, near the very spot where tlieir band had 
their principal rendezvous, with the apparent object of daunt- 
ing their incorrigible race. 

Immediately after the trial, a report was spread, and 
generally believed, that the Gipsies would attempt a rescue 
of the criminals on the way to execution, or even from under 
the gallows itself ; and it was particularly mentioned that 
thirty stout and desperate members of the race had under- 
taken to set their chieftains free. Every precaution Avas 
therefore taken, by the authorities, to prevent any such 
attempt being made. A large proportion of the gentlemen 
and farmers of the shire of Linlithgow were requested, 
with what arms they could procure, to attend, on foot or 
horseback, the execution of the desperate Tinklers. Lidecd, 
every third man of all the fencible men of the county was 
called upon to appear on the occasion ; while a company of 



134 A BISTORT OF THE GIPSIES. 

pensioners, with a commissioned officer at their head, and a 
strong body of the military, completed the force deemed 
necessary for the due execution of justice. Besides guard- 
ing against the possibility of a rescue on the part of the 
Gipsies, it was generally understood that the steps taken by 
the authorities, in bringing together so large a body of men, 
had in view the object of exhibiting to the people the igno- 
minious death of two men who had not only been allowed 
to remain among them, but, in many instances, countenanced 
by some of the most respectable inhabitants of tlie county ; 
and that not only in out-door amusements, but even in some 
of the special hospitalities of daily life, while in fact they 
were nothing but the leaders of a band of notorious thieves 
and robbers. 

These precautions being completed, the condemned Gipsies 
were bound hand and foot, and conveyed, by the sheriff of 
Edinburgh and a company of the military, to the boat-house 
bridge, on the river Almond — the boundary of the two 
counties — and there handed over to the sheriff of Linlith- 
gow ; under whose guard they were carried to the jail of 
the town of Linlithgow, and securely bound in irons, to wait 
their execution on the morrow."^ As night approached, fires 
were kindled at the door of the prison, and guards posted 
in the avenues leading to the building, while all the entrances 
to the town were guarded, and all ingress and egress pro- 
hibited, as if the burgh had been in a state of siege. So 
strictly were thepe orders put in force, that many of the in- 
habitants of Bo'ness, who had gone to Linlithgow, to view 
the bustle occasioned by the assemblage of so great a num- 
ber of armed men, were forced to remain in the town over 
night ; so alarmed were the authorities for the onset of the 
resolute Gipsies. It was soon perceived, by some sagacious 
individuals, that the fires would do more harm than good, 
as the light would show the prison, expose the sentinels, and 
guide the Gipsy bands. They were accordingly extinguished, 

* "This morning, a little after nine o'clock, McDonald and Jamieson 
were transported from the Tolbooth here, (Edinburgh.) escorted by a party 
of the military, and attended b\^ the sheriff-depute on horseback, with the 
officers of court, armed with broad-swords, amidst an innumerable crowd 
of spectators. They were securely pinioned to a cart, and are to bo 
received by the sheriff-depute of Linlithgow, on the confines of this county, 
whither they are to be conveyed, in order to their execution to-morrow, 
near Linlithgow-bridge, pursuant to their sentence." — Jxuddiman's Weehlt/ 
Magazine, vol 9, page 384. 



LINLITHGOWSHIRE GIPSIES. 135 

and the guards placed in such positions as would enable 
them, with the most advantage, to repel any attack tliat 
might be attempted : yet the enemy that caused all this 
alarm and precaution was nowhere visible. 

On the following morning, McDonald's wife requested 
permission to visit her husband before being led to execu- 
tion, with what particular object can only be conjectured ; a 
favour which was readily granted her, in the company of a 
magistrate. On beholding the object of her affection, she 
became overwhelmed with grief ; she tlirew her arms around 
his neck, and embraced him most tenderly ; and after giving 
vent to her sorrow in sobs and tears, she tore herself from 
him, and, turning to the magistrate, exclaimed, with a burst- 
ing heart, " Is he not a pretty man ? What a pity it is to 
hang him !" 

Arrangements were then made to carry the prisoners to 
the place of execution, at the bridge of Linlithgow, which 
lay about a mile from the town. The armed force was 
drawn up at the town-cross, and those who carried muskets 
were ordered to load them with ball cartridge, and hold 
themselves ready, at the word of command, upon the least 
appearance of an attempt at rescue, to fire upon the aggres- 
sors. The whole scene presented such an alarming and war- 
like appearance, that the people of the town and surrounding 
country compared it to the bustle and military parade which 
took place, twenty-five years before, when the rebel army 
made its appearance in the neighbourhood. The judicious 
arrangements adopted by the officers of the crown had the 
desired effect ; for not the slightest symptom of disturbance, 
not even a movement, was observed among the Gipsies, 
either on the night before, or on the morning of the execu- 
tion. The formidable armed bands, ready to overwhelm 
the presumptuous Gipsies, clearly sliowed them that they 
had not the shadow of a chance for carrying out tlicir in- 
tended rescue. All was peace and silence throughout the 
immense crowd surrounding the gallows, patiently waiting 
the appearance of the criminals. In due time the condemned 
made their appearance, in a cart, accompanied by Charles 
and James Jamieson, two youths, sitting beside their father 
and uncle, busily eating rolls, and, to all apj)earance, totally 
indifferent to the fate of their relatives, and the awful cir- 
cumstances surrounding them. 



136 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

On ascending tlio platform, Jamieson's demeanour was 
suitable to the circumstances in which he found himself 
placed ; but McDonald appeared quite unconcerned. He 
was observed frequently to turn a quid of tobacco in his 
mouth, and squirt the juice of it around him ; it was even 
evident, from his manner, that he expected to be delivered 
from the gallows by his tribe ; and more especially as he 
had been frequently lieard to say that the hemp was not 
grown tliat would hang him. He then began to look fre- 
quently and wistfully around him for the expected aid, yet 
none made its appearance ; and his heart began to sink 
within him. Indeed, the overwhelming force then surround- 
ing him rendered a deliverance impossible. Every hope 
having failed him, and seeing his end at hand, McDonald 
resigned himself, with great firmness, to his fate, and ex- 
claimed : " I have neither friends on ray right hand nor on 
ray left ; I see I now raust die." Jamieson, who appeared 
from the first never to indulge in vain expectations of being 
rescued, exclaimed to his fellow-sufferer : " Sandie, Sandie ! 
it is all over with us, and I told you so long ago." Mc- 
Donald then turned to the executioner, whose name was 
John Livingston, and dropping into his hand something, 
supposed to be money, undauntedly said to him : ''Now, 
John, don't bungle your job." Both of the unhappy men 
were then launclied into eternity. Ever afterwards, the in- 
habitants of Linlithgow pestered the hangman, by calling to 
him : " Now, John, don't bungle your job. What was it the 
Tinkler gave you, John ?""^ 

McDonald's wife had stood by, a quiet spectator, among 
the promiscuous crowd, of the melancholy scene displayed 
before her. But when she had witnessed the closing act of 
an eventful life — the heroisra and fortitude which all she 
held as dear displayed in his last raoraents — and enjoyed tlie 
satisfaction which it had given her, nature, which the odium 
of her fellow-creatures, not of her blood, could not destroy, 
burst forth with genuine expression. The silence attending 
the awful tragedy was abruptly broken by the lamentable 
yells and heart-rending screams which she gave vent to, as 

* " On Friday last, about three o'clock, McDonald and Jamieson were 
hanged, at the end of Linlithgow bridge. The latter appeared very peni- 
tent, but the former verj^ liftle affected, and. as the saying is, died hanV^ — 
Buddiman'a Wcekii/ Magazine, vol. U, page 41G. 



LmLITHGOWSHIRE GIPSIES. 137 

she beheld her husband turned off the scaffold. Two gentle- 
men, who were present, informed me that she foamed at tlie 
mouth, and tore her hair out of her head, and was so com- 
pletely frantic with grief and rage, that the spectators were 
afraid to go near her. 

On the bodies being taken down from the scaffold, an at- 
tempt was made to restore them to life, by opening a vein, 
but without effect. It is said they were buried in the moor 
near Linlithgow, by the Gipsies, and that the magistrates of 
the town ordered them to be taken up, and interred in the 
east end of the church-yard of Linlithgow. However that 
may be, the bodies were buried in the church-yard of Lin- 
lithgow ; but the populace, delivered from the terror with 
which these daring Gipsies inspired them, treated with ig- 
nominy the remains of those whom they dared scarcely look 
in the face when alive. They dug them out of the place of 
Christian sepulture, and interred them in a solitary field in 
the neighbourhood. A clump of trees, I believe, marks the 
spot, and the gloomy pine now waves, in the winds of heaven, 
over the silent and peaceful graves of the restless and law- 
less Gipsies. 

McDonald, it would appear, was married, first of all, to a 
daughter of a Gipsy of the name of Eppie Lundie, with 
whom he lived unhappy, and was divorced from her over a 
horse sacrificed for the occasion, a ceremony which I will 
describe in another chapter.* He was more fortunate in 
his second matrimonial alliance, for, in Ann Jamieson, he 
found a wife after his own heart in every way. Previous to 
his own execution, she had witnessed the violent deaths of 
at least six of her own nearest relatives. But, if anything 
could have influenced, in the slightest degree, a reformation 
in her own character, it would have been the melanclioly 
scene attending his miserable end ; yet, we find it had not 
the slightest effect upon her after career, for she continued, 
to the last, to follow the practices of her race, as an anec- 
dote told of lier will show. 

At the North Queensferry was a very respectable inn, kept 
by a Mr. McRitchie, whicli was mucli frequented and patron- 

* This Eppie Lundie lived to the advanced age of a hundred years, and 
was a terror wherever she travelled. AVithout the least hesitation or 
scruple, she frequently stri])pe(l defenceless individuals of their wearing 
apparel, leaving them sometimes naked in the^opcn fields. 



138 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

ized by the Gipsies. On such occasions they did not visit 
the house in whole families or hordes, fluttering in rags, but 
as well-dressed individuals, arriving from different directions, 
as if by chance. In this house they were always treated 
with consideration and kindness, for other reasons than that 
of the liberal custom which they brought to it, and, as a 
natural consequence, the landlord and his family became 
great favourites with them. One of the members of the 
family, David McRitchie, my informant, happened one day 
to purchase a horse, at a fair in Dunfermline, but in feeling 
for his pocket-book, to pay for the animal, he found, to his 
surprise and grief, that book and money were gone. The 
person from whom he bought the horse commenced at once 
to abuse him as an impostor, for he not only would not be- 
lieve his tale, but would not trust him for a moment. Under 
these distressing circumstances, he sought out Ann Jamieson, 
or Annie McDonald, after her husband's name, for he knew 
well enough where his money had gone to, and the sovereign 
influence which Ann exercised over her tribe. Being well 
acquainted with her, from having often met her in his fa- 
ther's house, he went up to her, and putting his hand gently 
on her shoulder, in a kind and familiar manner, and witli a 
long face, told her of his misfortune, and begged her friendly 
assistance to help him out of the difficulty, laying much stress 
on the horse-dealer charging him with an attempt to impose 
on him. " Some o' my laddies will hae seen it, Davie ; I'll 
enquire," was her immediate reply. She then took him to a 
public-house, called for brandy, saw him seated, and desired 
him to drink. Taking the marks of the pocket-book, she 
entered the fair, and, after various doublings and windings 
among the crowd, proceeded to her temporary depot of 
stolen goods. In about half an hour she returned, with the 
book and all its contents. The cash, bills, and papers which 
it contained, were in the same parts of the book in which the 
owner had placed them. This affair was transacted in as 
cool and business-like a manner as if Annie and her " laddies" 
had been following any of the honest callings in ordinary 
life. Indeed, no example, however severe, no punishment, 
however awful, seems to have had any beneficial effect upon 
the minds of these Gipsies, or their friends who frequented 
the surrounding parts of the country, for they continued to 
follow the ways of their race, in spite of the sanguinary laws 



LINLITHOOWSHIRE GIPSIES. 139 

of the country. A continuation of their history, up to a 
period, is little better than a melancholy narrative of a series 
of imprisonments, banishments, and executions. 

Ann Jamieson's two nephews, Charles and James Jamie- 
son, wlio rode alongside of their father and uncle to the 
place of their execution, eating rolls, as if nothing unusual 
was about to befall them, and who had witnessed their 
miserable end, in 1770, were themselves executed in 1786 
for robbing the Kinross mail. It was their intention to 
have committed the deed upon the highway, for, the night 
before the robbery, their mother, Euphan Graham, to pre- 
vent detection, insisted upon the post-boy being put to death, 
to which bloody proposition her sons would not consent. It 
was then agreed that they should secure their prize in the 
stable yard of an inn in the town, where the post-boy usually 
stopped. The two highwaymen were traced to a small 
house near Stirling, in which they made a desperate resist- 
ance. One of them attempted to ascend the chimney, to 
effect his escape ; but, failing in that, tliey attacked the offi- 
cers, and tore at them with tlieir teeth, after having struck 
furiously at them with a knife. But they were overpowered, 
and secured in irons. Two females were in their company 
at the time, on whom some of the money Avas found, most 
artfully concealed about their persons. So illiterate were 
these two men that, in crossing the Forth at Kincardine, 
they presented a twenty-pound note, to be changed, instead 
of a twenty-shilling one. According to Baron Hume, the 
trial of these two Gipsies took place on the 18th December, 
1786. They were assisted in the robbery by other members 
of their band, including women and children. Their mother 
was said to have been transported for the part which she 
took in the affair ; while another member of the gang was 
below the age at which criminals can be tried and punished 
in this country. The two brothers, before they committed 
the crime, measured themselves in a room in Kinross, kept 
by a Mary Barclay, and marked tlieir heiglits on the wall. 
The one stood six feet two inches, and tfie other five feet 
four inches."^ 

* Perhaps the autlior intended to say, six feet two inches, and aix feet 
four inches. Si ill, it might have been as stated in the MS. ; for with Gip- 
sies of mixed blood, the individual, if he takes after the Gipsy, is jipt to be 
short and thick-set. The mixture of the two people produces a strong raco 
of men. — Ku. 



CHAPTER y. 

FIFE AND STIRLINGSHIRE GIPSIES. 

In this account of the Gipsies in Fife, the horde which at 
one period resided at the village of Lochgellie are frequently 
referred to. But it is proper to premise that this noted 
band were not the only Gipsies in Fife. This populous 
county contained, at one time, a great number of nomadic 
Gipsies. The Falkland hills and the Falkland fairs were 
greatly frequented by them f and, not far from St. Andrews, 
some of the tribe had, within these fifty years, a small farm, 
containing about twenty acres of waste land, on which they 
had a small foundry, which the country people, on that ac- 
count, called " Little Carron." As my materials for this 
chapter are chiefly derived from the Lochgellie band, and 
their immediate connexions in other districts not far from 
Fife, their manners and customs are, on that account, brought 
more under review. 

The village of Lochgellie was, at one time, a favourite re- 
sort of the Gipsies. The grounds in its immediate vicinity 
are exactly of that character upon which they seem to have 

* In Oliver and Boyd's Scottish Tourist, (1852), page 181, occurs the fol- 
lowing passage : " A singular set of vagrants existed long in Falkland, 
called Scrapies, who had no other visible means of existence than a horse 
or a cow. Their ostensible employment was the carriage of commodities 
to the adjoining villages, and in the intervals of work they turned out their 
cattle to graze on the Lomond Hill. Their excursions at night were long 
and mysterious, for the pretended object of procuring coals, but they 
roamed with their little carts through the country-side, securing whatever 
they could lift, and plundering fields in autumn. Whenever any enquiry 
was addressed to a Falkland Scrapie as to the support of his horse, the 
ready answer was, ' Ou, he gangs up the (Lomond) Hill, ya ken,' This is 
now prevented ; the Lomond is enclosed, and the Scrapies now manage 
their affairs on the road-sides." 

The people mentioned in this extract are doubtless those to whom our 
author alludes. The reader will notice some resemblance between them 
and the tribe in the Pyrenees, as described at page 87 — Ed. 
(140) 



FIFE AND STIRLINGSHIRE GIPSIES. 141 

fixed their permanent, or rather winter's residence, in a 
great many parts of Scotland. By tlie statistical account of 
the parish of Auchterderran, Lochgellie was almost inacces- 
sible for nearly six months in the year. The bleak and 
heathy morasses, and rushy wastes, with which the villao-e 
is surrounded, have a gloomy and melancholy aspect. The 
scenery and face of the adjoining country are very similar 
to those in the neighbourhood of Biggar, in Lanai-kshire, 
and Middleton, in Midlothian, which were also, at that time, 
Gipsy stations. A little to tlie south of the spot where the 
Linlithgow band, at one period, had their quarters, the coun- 
try becomes moory, bleak, and barren. The village of Kirk- 
Yetholm, at present full of Gipsies, is also situated upon the 
confines of a wild, pastoral tract, among the Cheviot hills."^ 
The Gipsies, in general, appear to have located themselves 
upon grounds of a flattish character, between the cultivated 
and uncultivated districts ; having, on one side, a fertile and 
populous country, and, on the other, a heathy, boggy, and 
barren waste, into which they could retire in times of dan- 
ger.t 

In the statistical account of Auchterderran, just alluded 
to, is to be found the following notice of the Lochgellie Gip- 
sies : " There are a few persons called Tinkers and Hom- 
ers, half resident and half itinerant, who are feared and 
suspected by the community. Two of them were banished 
within these six years." This horde, at one time, consisted 
of four or five families of the names of Graham, Brown, 
Robertson, &c. The Jamiesons and Wilsons were also often 
seen at Lochgellie ; but such were the numbers that were 
coming and going about the village, that it was difficult to 
say who were residenters, and who were not. Some of 
them had feus from the proprietor of the estate of Loch- 
gellie. They were dreaded for their depredations, and 
were well known to the country people, all over the shires 
of Fife, Kinross, Perth, Forfar, Kincardine and Aber- 
deen, by the name of the " Lochgellie band." The chiefs of 

* Yetholm lies in a valley which, surrounded on all sides by lofty moun- 
tains, seems completely sequestered from the rest of tlie world — alike inac- 
cessible from without, and not to be left from within. Tlie valley has, 
however, more than one outlet. — Chambers' Gazetteer of Scotland. — Ed. 

f In Iluni^ary, their houses, which are always small, and poor in appear- 
ance, are commonly situated iti the outskirts of the villa<:re, and, if possible, 
in tlie neighbourhood of some thicket or rough land. — Br'ujht. — En. 



143 A HIS TOUT OF THE GIPSIES. 

this band were the Grahams, at the head of which was old 
Charles Graham, an uncommonly stout and fine-looking man. 
He was banished the kingdom for his many crimes. Charlie 
had been often in courts of justice, and on one occasion, 
when he appeared for some crime or other, the judge, in a 
surly manner, demanded of him, what had brought him 
there ? — " The auld thing again, my lord, but nae proof," 
was the Tinkler's immediate reply. Ann Brown, one of his 
wives, and the chief female of the band, was also sentenced to 
banishment for fourteen years ; seven of which, however, she 
spent in the prison of Aberdeen. She remained altogether 
nine years at Botany Bay, married a Gipsy abroad, returned 
to Scotland, with more than a hundred pounds in cash, and 
now sells earthenware at St. Andrews.* Being asked why 
she left Botany Bay, while making so much. money there, 
she said, " It was to let them see I could come back again." 
Young Charlie Graham, son and successor, as chief, to old 
Charlie, was hanged at Perth, about tliirty years ago, for 
horse-stealing. The anecdotes vv^hich ar^ told of this singu- 
lar man are numerous. When he was apprehended, a num- 
ber of people assembled to look at him, as an object of won- 
der ; it being considered a thing almost impossible to take 
him. His dog had discovered to the messengers the place 
of his concealment, having barked at them as they came 
near the spot. His feelings became irritated at the curi- 
osity of the people, and he called out in great bitterness to 
the officers : " Let me free, and gie me a stick three feet 
lang, and I'll clear the knowe o' them." His feet and hands 
were so handsome and small, in proportion to the other 
parts of his athletic body, that neitlier irons nor liand-cuffs 
could be kept on his ankles or wrists ; without injury to his 
person the gyves and manacles always slipped over his 
joints. He had a prepossessing countenance, an elegant 
figure, and mucli generosity of heart ; and, notwithstanding 
all his tricks, was an extraordinary favourite with the pub- 
lic. Among the many tricks he played, it is related that he 
once, unobserved, in a grass park, converted a young colt 
into a gelding. He allowed the animal to remain for some 
time in the possession of the owner, and then stole it. He was 
immediately detected, and apprehended ; but as the owner 

* This woman is most probably dead, and the same may be said of some 
of the other characters mentioned in this and other chapters. — Ed. 



FIFE AND STIRLINGSHIRE GIPSIES. 143 

swore positively to the description of his horse, and Char- 
lie's being a gelding, he got off clear. The man was amazed 
when he discovered the trick that had been played upon 
him, but when, where, and by whom done, he was entirely 
ignorant. Graham sold the animal to a third person, again 
stole it, and replaced it in the park of the original owner. 
He seemed to take great delight in stealing in this ingeni- 
ous manner, trying how dexterously he could carry off the 
property of the astonished natives. He sometimes stole 
from wealthy individuals, and gave the booty to the indi- 
gent, although they were not Gipsies ; and so accustomed 
were the people, in some places, to his bloodless robberies, 
that some only put their spurs to their horses, calling out, as 
they passed him : " Ah ha, Charlie lad, ye hae missed your 
mark to — night !" A widow, with a large family, at whose 
house he had frequently been quartered, was in great dis- 
tress for want of money to pay her rent. Graham lent her 
the amount required ; but as the factor was returning home 
with it in his pocket, Charlie robbed him, and, without loss 
of time, returned to the woman, and gave her a full dis- 
charge for the sum she had just borrowed from him. 

He was asked, immediately before his execution, if he had 
ever performed any good action during his life, to recom- 
mend him to the mercy of his offended God. That of giving 
the widow and fatherless the money of which he immediately 
afterwards robbed the factor, was the only instance he ad- 
duced in his favour ; thinking that thereby he had performed 
a virtuous deed. In the morning of the day on which he 
was to suffer, he sent a messenger to one of the magistrates, 
requesting a razor to take off his beard ; at the same time, 
in a calm manner, desiring the person to tell the magistrate 
that, '' unless his beard was shaven, he could appear before 
neither God nor man." A short time before he was taken 
out to the gallows, he was observed reclining very pensively 
and thoughtfully on a seat. All at once he started up, ex- 
claiming, in a mournful tone of voice, " Oh, can ony o' ye 
read, sirs ; will some o' ye read a psalm to me ?" at the 
same time regretting much that he had not been taught to 
read. The fifty-first psalm was accordingly read to him, by 
a gentleman present, which soothed his feelings exceedingly, 
and gave him much ease and comfort. He was greatly 
agitated after ascending the platform — his knees knocking 



144 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

against each other ; but just before he was cast off, his in- 
veterate Gipsy feelings returned upon him with redoubled 
violence. He kicked from his feet both of his shoes, in 
sight of the spectators — to set at nought, as was supposed, 
some prophecy that he would die with them on ; and ad- 
dressed the assembled crowd in the following words : " I 
am this day to be married to the gallows-tree, by suffering 
in the manner of many of my ancestors ; and I am extremely 
glad to see such a number of respectable people at my wed- 
ding." A number of the band attended his execution, and, 
when his body was returned to them, they all kissed it with 
great affection, and held the usual lyke-wake over it. His 
sweetheart, or widow, I am uncertain which, of the name 
of Wilson, his own cousin, put his corpse into hot lime, then 
buried it, and sat on his grave, in a state of intoxication, 
till it was rendered unfit for the use of the medical gentle- 
men ; it having been reported that he was to be taken out 
of his grave for the purpose of dissection. This man 
boasted greatly, while under sentence of death, of never 
having spilled human blood by committing murder. 

Hugh Graham, brother to Charlie, above-mentioned, was 
stabbed with a knife by his own cousin, John Young, in 
Aberdeenshire. These powerful Gipsies never fell in with 
each other but a wrestling bout took place. Young gen- 
erally came off victorious, but Graham, although worsted, 
would neither quit Young nor acknowledge his inferiority 
of strength. Young frequently desired Graham to keep 
out of his way, as his obstinate disposition would prove 
fatal to one of them some time or other. They, however, 
met again, when a desperate struggle ensued. Graham was 
the aggressor ; he drew his knife to stab Young, who 
wrested it out of his hand, and stabbing him ia the upper 
part of the stomacli, close to the breast, laid his opponent 
dead at his feet."^ In this battle the Gipsy females, in 
tlieir usual manner, took a conspicuous part, by assisting the 
combatants on either side. 

* Young was chased for nearly thirty miles, by Highlanders, on foot, and 
General Gordon of Cairnfield, and others, on horseback ; and, as he was 
frequentl}^ in view, the affair much resembled a fox-hunt. The hounds 
were most of tliem game-keepers — an active race of men ; and so exhausted 
weT*e they, before the Gipsy was caught, that they were seen lying by the 
6j)rings, lapping water with their tongues, like dogs. — Blachcood's Maga- 
zine. — Ed. 



FIFE AND STIBLINOSHIRE GIPSIES. 145 

Jenny Graham, sister of tliese Grahams, was kept by a 
gentleman as his mistress ; but, although treated with affec- 
tion, such was her attachment to her old wandering way of 
life, that she left her protector and his wealth, and rejoined 
her erratic associates in the gang. She was a remarkably 
handsome and good-looking woman, and, while she traversed 
the country, she frequently rode upon an ass, which was 
saddled and bridled. On these occasions, she was sometimes 
dressed in a blue riding-habit and a black beaver hat. It 
was generally supposed that the stolen articles of value be- 
longing to the family were committed to the care of Jenny. 
Margaret Graham, another sister, is still living, and is a 
woman of uncommon bodily strength ; so much so, that she 
is considered to be a good deal stronger than the generality 
of men. She was married to William Davidson, a Gipsy, 
at Wemyss. They have a large family, and sell earthenware 
through the country. 

John Young, who stabbed his cousin, Hugh Graham, was 
one of seven sons, and though above five feet ten inches in 
height, his mother used to call him " the dwarf o' a' my 
bairns." He was condemned and hanged at Aberdeen for 
the murder. He wrote a good hand, and the country-peo- 
ple were far from being displeased with his society, while 
he was employed in repairing their pots and pans in the way 
of his calling. Sarah Graham, his mother, was of the high- 
est Tinkler mettle. She lost a forefinger in a Gipsy fray. 
Peter Young, another son of Sarah's, was also hanged at 
Edinburgh, after breaking a number of prisons in which he 
was confined. He is spoken of as a singular man. Such 
was his generosity of character, that he always exerted him- 
self to the utmost to set his fellow-prisoners free, although 
they happened not to be in the same apartment of the 
prison. The life of this man was published about the time 
of his execution. When any one asked old Jolm Young 
where his sons were, his reply was, '' They are all hanged." 
They were seven in number, and it was certainly a fearful 
end of a whole family. The following is an extract of a 
letter addressed to Mr. Blackwood, from Aberdeen, relative 
to Peter Young : " It is said, in your far-famed magazine, 
that Peter Young, brother to John Young, the Gipsy, like- 
wise suffered at Aberdeen. It is true that he received sen- 
tence to die there, but the prison and all tlie irons the per- 
7 



146 A EISTOHY OF THE GIPSIES. 

sons were able to load him with, somehow or other, were 
found insufficient to prevent him from making his escape. 
After he had repeatedly broken loose, and had been as often 
retaken, the magistrates at last resolved that he should be 
effectually secured ; and, for that purpose, ordered a great 
iron chain to be provided, and Peter to be fast bound in 
it. As the jailer was making everything, as he tliought, 
most secure, Peter, with a sigli, gazed on liim, and said, 
'Ay, ay, I winna come out now till I come out at the 
door f making him believe that he would not be able to 
make his escape again, nor come out till tlie day fixed for 
his execution. But the great iron chain, bolts and bars, 
were all alike unable to withstand his skill and strength : 
he came out, within a few nights, at the ' door,' along with 
such of his fellow-prisoners as were inclined to avail 
themselves of the ' catch ;' but he was afterwards taken, and 
conveyed to Edinburgh, and there made to suffer the penalty 
which his crimes deserved. — D. C."* 

* Our author says that the Life of Peter Young was published. The 
following particulars, quoted in an account of the Gipsies, in the sixteenth 
volume of Chambers' Miscellany, are probably taken from that source : 

"Peter was Captain of a band well known in the north of Scotland, 
where his exploits are told to this day. Possessed of great strength of 
body, and very uncommon abilities, he was a fine specimen of his race, 
though he retained all their lawless i)ropensities. He was proud, passion- 
ate, revengeful, a great poacher, and an absolute despot, although a toler- 
ably just one, over his gang, maintaining his authority with an oak stick, 
the principal sufferers from which were his numerous wives." — " He 
esteemed himself to be a very honourable man, and the keepers of the 
dififerent public-houses in the country seem to have thought that, to a cer- 
tain extent, he was so. He never asked for trust as long as he had a half- 
penny in his pocket. At the different inns which he used to frequent, he 
was seldom or never denied anything. If he pledged his word that he 
would pay his bill the next time he came that way, he punctually per- 
formed his promise." 

" Peter's work was that of a very miscellaneous nature. It comprehended 
the profession of a blacksmith, in all its varieties, a tin-smith, and brazier. 
His original business was to mend pots, pans, kettles, (fee, of every descrip- 
tion, and this he did with great neatness and ingenuity. Having an un- 
common turn for mechanics, he at last cleaned and repaired clocks and 
watches. He could also engrave on wood or metal ; so also could his 
brother John ; but where they learned any of these arts I never heard. 
Peter was vei-y handy about all sorts of carpenter work, and occasionally 
amused himself, when the fancy seized him, in executing some pieces of 
curious cabinet work that required neatness of hand, lie was particularly 
famous in making fishing-rods, and in the art of fishing he was surpassed 
by few." 

Immediately before one of the days fixed for his execution, he seized the 



FIFE AND STIRLINQSniRE GIPSIES. 147 

Charles Brown, one of the principal members of the 
Lochgellie band, was killed in a desperate fight at Raploch, 
near Stirling. A number of Gipsy boys, belonging to 
several gangs in the south, obtained a considerable quan- 
tity of plunder, at a fair in Perth, and had, in the 
division of the spoil, somehow or another, imposed on the 
Lochgellie tribe, and their associates. Charles Graham, al- 
ready mentioned, and Charles Brown, went south in pursuit 
of the young depredators, for the purpose of compelling them 
to give up their ill-gotten booty to those to whom, by the 
Gipsy regulations, it of right belonged. After an arduous 
chase, the boys were overtaken near Stirling, when a furi- 
ous battle immediately commenced. Both parties were 
armed with bludgeons. After having fought for a consider- 
able time, with equal success on both sides, Graham, from 
some unknown cause, fled, leaving his near relation, Brown, 
to contend alone with the youths, in the best way he could. 
The boys now became the assailants, and began to press hard 
upon Brown, who defended himself long and manfully with 
his bludgeon, displaying much art in the use of his weapon, 
in warding off the lighter blows of his opponents, whicli 
came in upon him from all quarters. At length he was 
forced to give way, although very few of the blows reached 
his person. On retreating, with his front to his assailants, 
his foot struck upon an old feal dyke, when he fell to the 
ground. The enraged youths now sprang in upon him, like 
tigers, and, without showing him the least mercy, dispatched 
him on the spot, by literally beating out his brains with 
their bludgeons. Brown's coat was brought home to Loch- 
gellie, by some of his wife's friends, with the collar and 
shoulders besmeared all over witli blood and brains, with 
quantities of his hair sticking in the gore. It was preserved 
for some time in this shocking condition by his wife, and ex- 
hibited as a proof that her husband had not fled, as well as to 

jailer, and, upon the threat of instant death, compelled him to lie on \\\a 
back, as one dead, till he had set at liberty every one in the prison, himself 
being the last to leave the building. After travelling twenty-four miles, 
he went to sleep in the snow, and was apprehended by a company of sports- 
men, whose dogs had made a dead set at him. On being taken to the gal- 
lows, one of the crowd cried : " Peter, deny you are the man !" — which he 
did, declaring that his name was John Anclerson, and wondered what the 
people wanted with him. And there being none present who could identify 
him, although he was well known in Aberdeen, he managed to get olf 
clear. — Ed. 



148 A HISTORY OF TEE GIPSIES. 

arouse the clan to vengeance. My informant, a man about 
fifty years of age, with others, saw this dreadful relique of 
Brown, in the very state in which it is now described. 
/ Alexander Brown, another member of the Lochgellie band, 
happened, on one occasion, to be in need of butcher meat, for 
his tribe. He had observed, grazing in a field, in the county 
of Linlithgow, a bullock that had, by some accident, lost about 
three-fourths of its tail. He procured a tail of a skin of the 
same colour as that of the animal, and, in an ingenious man- 
ner, made it fast to the remaining part of its tail. Disguised 
in this way, he drove off his booty ; but after shipping the 
beast at the Queens-ferry, on his way to the north, a ser- 
vant, who had been dispatched in quest of the depredator, 
overtook him as he was stepping into the boat. An alterca- 
tion immediately commenced about the ox. The country- 
man said he could swear to the identity of the animal in 
Brown's possession, were it not for its long tail ; and was 
proceeding to examine it narrowly, to satisfy himself on that 
particular, when the ready-witted Gipsy, ever fertile in ex- 
pedients to extricate himself from difficulties, took his knife 
out of his pocket, and, in view of all present, cut off the tail 
above the juncture, drawing blood instantly ; and, throwing 
it into the sea, called out to the pursuer, with some warmth : 
" Swear to the ox now, and be to ye." The coun- 
tryman said not another word, but returned home, while the 
Tinkler proceeded on his journey with his prize.* 

* Besides g-etting themselves out of scrapes in such an adroit manner, the 
Scotch Gipsies have been known to serve a friend, when innocently placed 
in a position of danger. It happened once that Billy Marshall, the Gipsy 
chief in Gallowayshire, attacked and robbed the laird of Bargally, and in 
the tussle lost his cap. A respectable farmer, passing by, some time after- 
wards, picked up the cap, and put it on his head. The laird, with his mind 
confused by the robbery and the darkness combined, accused the farmer of 
the ci'ime ; and it would liave gone hard with him at tlie trial, had not 
Billy come to his rescue. He seized the cap, in the open court, and, putting 
it on his head, addressed the laird : " Look at me, sir, and tell me, by the 
oath j^ou have sworn, am not I the man that robbed you ?' — '" By heaven ! 
you ai*e the very man." — " You see what sort of memory this gentleman 
has," exclaimed the Gipsy ; " he swears to the bonnet, whatever features 
are under it. If you, yourself, my lord, will put it on your ht- ad, he will 
be willing to swear that j^our lordship was the person who robbed him." 
The farmer was unanimously acquitted. 

Notwithstanding Billy's courage in " taking care of the Ih'hifj," an anec- 
dote is related of his having been frightened almost out of his wits, under 
very ludicrous circumstances. He and his gang had long held possession 
of a cavern in Gallow-sy shire, where they usually deposited their plunder, 



FIFE AND STIRLINOSEIHE GIPSIES. 149 

But this Gipsy was not always so fortunate as lie was on 
this occasion. Being once apprehended near Dumblane, it was 
the intention of the messengers to carry him direct to Perth, 
but they were under the necessity of lodging him in the 
nearest prison for the night. Brown was no sooner in cus- 
tody than he began to meditate his escape. He requested, 
as a favour, that tlie officers would sit up all night with him, 
in a public-house, instead of a prison, promising them as 
much meat and drink, for their indulgence and trouble, as 
they should desire. His request having been granted, four 
or five officers were placed in and about the room in which 
he was confined, as a guard on his person, being aware of 
the desperate character they had to deal with. He took 
care to ply them well with the bottle ; and early next morn- 
ing, before setting out, he desired one of them to put up the 
window a little, to cool the apartment. After walking 
several times across the room, tlie Gripsy, all at once, threw 
himself out of tlie window, which was a considerable height 
from the ground. The hue and cry was at his heels in an 
instant ; and as some of the messengers were gaining on 
him, he boldly faced about, drew forth, from below his coat, 
a dagger, which he brandished in the air, and threatened 
death to the first who should approach him. He was, on 
this occasion, suffered to make his escape, as none had the 
courage to advance upon him. 

^' When in full dress. Brown wore a hat richly ornamented 
and trimmed with beautiful gold lace, which was then fash- 
ionable among the first ranks in Scotland, particularly 
among the officers of the army. His coat was made of 
superfine cloth, of a light green colour, long in the tails, and 
having one row of buttons at the breast. His shirt, of the 
finest quality, was ruffled at hands and breast, with a black 

and sometimes i-esided, secure from the officers of the law. Two Highland 
pipers, strangers to the country, happened to enter it, to rest themselves 
during the night. They perceived, at once, the character of its absent in- 
habitants ; and they were not long within it, before they were alarmed by 
the voices of a numerous band advancing to its entrance. The pipers, 
expecting nothing but death from the ruthless Gipsies, had the presence of 
mind to strike up a pibroch, with tremendous fury ; at the terrific recep- 
tion of which — the yelling of the bag-pipes issuing from the bowels of the 
earth — Billy and his gang precipitately fled, as before a blast from the in- 
fernal regions, and never afterwards dared to visit tlieir favourite haunt. The 
pipers, as might naturally be expected, carried off, in the morning, the 
spoils of the redoubted Gipsies. — Sir Walter Scott . — Ed. 



160 A BISTORT OF THE GIPSIES. 

stock and buckle round the neck. He also wore a pair of 
handsome boots, with silver-plated spurs, all in the fashion 
of the day. Below his garments he carried a large knife, 
and in the shaft or butt-end of his large whip, a small spear, 
or dagger, was concealed. His brother-in-law, Wilson, was 
frequently dressed in a similar garb, and both rode the best 
horses in the country. Having the appearance of gentle- 
men in their habits, and assuming the manners of such, which 
they imitated to a wonderful degree, few persons took these 
men for Gipsies. Like many of their race, they are repre- 
sented as having been very handsome, tall, and stout-made 
men, with agreeable and manly countenances. Among the 
numerous thefts and robberies which they committed in 
their day, they were never known to have taken a sixpence 
from people of an inferior class, but, on the contrary, rather 
to have assisted the poor classes in their pecuniary matters, 
with a generous liberality, not at all to be looked for from 
men of their singular habits and manner of life. The fol- 
lowing particulars are descriptive of the manner and style 
in which some of the Gipsies of rank, at one time, traversed 
this country. 

Within these forty-five years, Mr. McRitchie, already 
alluded to, happened to be in a smithy, in the neighbourhood 
of Carlisle, getting the shoes of his riding-horse roughened 
on a frosty day, to enable him to proceed on his journey, 
when a gentleman called for a like purpose. The animal 
on which he was mounted was a handsome blood-horse, which 
was saddled and bridled in a superior manner. He was himself 
dressed in superfine clothes, with a riding- whip in his hand ; 
was booted and spurred, with saddle-bags behind him ; and 
had, altogether, man and horse, the equipment and appear- 
ance of a smart English mercantile traveller, riding in the 
way of his business. There being several horses in the 
smithy, he, in a haughty and consequential manner, enquired 
of the smith, very particularly, whose turn it was first ; in- 
dicating a strong desire to be first served, although he was 
tlie last that had entered the smitliy. This bold assurance 
made my acquaintance take a steady look at the intrusive 
stranger, whom he surveyed from head to foot. And what 
was his astonishment when he found the mighty gentleman 
to be no other than Sandie Brown, the Tinkler's son, from 
the neighbourhood of Crieff ; whom he had often seen stroll- 



FIFE AND STIRLmaSHIRE GIPSIES. 151 

ing througli the country in a troop of Gipsies, and frequently 
in his father's house, at the North Queensferry. He could 
scarcely believe his eyes, so to prevent any disagreeable 
mistake, politely asked the "gentleman" if his name was not 
Brown ; observing that he thought he had seen him some- 
where before. The surprised Tinkler hesitated considerably 
at the unexpected question, and, after having put some 
queries on his part, answered that " he would not deny 
himself — his name was really Brown." He had, in all like- 
lihood, been travelling under a borrowed name, a practice 
very common with the Gipsies. When he found himself 
detected, yet seeing no danger to be apprehended from the 
accidental meeting, he very shrewdly showed great marks 
of kindness to his acquaintance. Being now quite free from 
embarrassment, he, in a short time, began to display, as is 
the Gipsy custom, extraordinary feats of bodily strength, 
by twisting with his hands strong pieces of iron ; taking 
bets regarding his power in tliese practices, with those who 
would wager with him. Before parting with my friend, 
Brown very kindly insisted upon treating him with a bottle 
of any kind of liquor he would choose to drink. At some 
sequestered station of his tribe, on his way home, the eques- 
trian Tinkler would unmask himself — dispose of his horse, 
pack up his fine clothes, and assume his ragged coat, leathern 
apron, and budget — before he would venture among the 
people of the country, who were acquainted with his real 
character. Here we see a haughty, overbearing, highway 
robber, clothed in excellent apparel, and mounted on a good 
steed, metamorphose himself, in an instant, into a poor, 
wandering, beggarly, and pitiful Gipsy. 

This Alexander Brown, and his brother-in-law, Wilson, 
carried on conjointly a considerable trade in horse-stealing 
between Scotland and England. The horses which were 
stolen in the South were brought to Scotland, and sold there ; 
those stolen in Scotland were, on the other liand, disposed 
of in the South by English Gipsies. The crime of liorse- 
stealing has brought a great many of these wanderers to an 
"untimely end on the gallows. Brown was at last liangcd at 
Edinburgh, to expiate the many crimes he had, from time 
to time, committed. It is said that his brother-in-law, Wil- 
Bon, was hanged along with him on the same day, having 
been also guilty of a number of crimes. Brown was taken 



152 A niSTOMY OF THE GIPSIES. 

in a wood in Rannach, having been surprised and overpow- 
ered by a party of Highlanders, raised for the purpose of 
apprehending him, and dispersing his band, who lay in the 
wood in which he was captured. He thought to evade them 
by clapping close to the ground, like a wild animal. Upon 
being seized, a furious scuJOBe ensued ; and during the vio- 
lent tossing and struggling which took place, while they 
were securing this sturdy wanderer, he took hold of the 
bare thigh of one of the Highlanders, and bit it most cru- 
elly. Martha, the mother of Brown, and the mother-in-law 
of Wilson, was apprehended in the act of stealing a pair oi 
sheets while attending their execution. 

Charles, by some called William, a brother of Alexander 
Brown, was run down by a party of the military and some 
messengers, near Dundee. He was carried to Perth, where 
he was tried, condemned and executed, to atone for the nu- 
merous crimes of which he was guilty. He was conveyed 
to Perth by water, in consequence of it being reported that 
the Gipsies of Fife, with the Grahams and Ogilvies at their 
head, were in motion to rescue him. He, also, was a man 
of great personal strength ; and regretting, after being 
handcuffed, having allowed himself to be so easily taken, he, 
in wrath, drove the messengers before him with his feet, as 
if they had been children. While in the apartment of the 
prison called the condemned cell, or the cage, he freed him- 
self from his irons, and by some means set on fire the damp 
straw on which he lay, with the design of making his escape 
in the confusion. Surprised at the building being on fire, 
and suspecting Brown to have been the cause of it, and that 
he was free from his chains, ramping like a lion in his den, 
no one, in the hurry, could be found with resolution enough 
to venture near him, till a sergeant of the forty-second regi- 
ment volunteered his services. Before he would face the 
Tinkler, however, he requested authority from the magis- 
trates to defend himself with his broad-sword, and, in case 
the prisoner became desperate, to cut him down. This per- 
mission being obtained, the sergeant drew his sword, and, 
assisted by the jailer's daughter, unbarred the doors, till he 
came to the cage, whence the prison was being filled with 
smoke. As he advanced to the door, he asked with a loud 
voice, " Who is there ?" " The devil," vociferated the Gipsy, 
through fii'e and smoke. " I am also a devil, and of the 



FIFE AND STIRLINGSHIRE GIPSIES. 153 

black-watch/' thundered back the intrepid Highlander. The 
resolute reply of the soldier sounded like a death knell to 
the artful Tinkler — he knew his man — it daunted him com- 
pletely ; for, after some threats from the sergeant, he qui- 
etly allowed himself to be again loaded with irons, and 
thoroughly secured in his cell, whence he did not stir till the 
day of his execution. 

Lizzy Brown, by some called Snippy, a member of the 
same family, was a tall, stout woman, with features far from 
being disagreeable. She lost her nose in a battle, fought in 
the shire of Angus. In this rencounter, the Gipsies fought 
among themselves with highland dirks, exhibiting all the 
fury of hostile tribes of Bedouin Arabs of the desert. When 
this woman found that her nose was struck off, by the sweep 
of a dirk, she put her hand to the wound, and, as if little 
had befallen her, called out, in the heat of the scuffle, to 
those nearest her : " But, in the middle o' the meantime, 
where is my nose ?" Poor Lizzy's tall figure was conspicu- 
ous among the tribe, owing to the want of that ornamental 
part of her face. 

The Grahams of Lochgellie, the Wilsons of Raploch, near 
Stirling, and the Jamiesons, noticed under the head of Lin- 
lithgowshire Gipsies, were all, by the female side, immedi- 
ately descended from old Charles Stewart, a Gipsy chief, at 
one period of no small consequence among these hordes.* 
When I enquired if the Robertsons, who lived, at one time, 
at Menstry, were related to the Lochgellie band, the answer 
which I received was : " The Tinklers are a' sib" — meaning 
that they are all connected with one another by the ties of 
blood, and considered as one family. This is a most power- 
ful bond of union among these desperate clans, which almost 
bids defiance to the breaking up of their strongly ce-" 
mented society. Old Charles Stewart was described to 
me as a stout, good-looking man, with a fair complexion ; 
and I was informed that he lived to a great age. He af- 
firmed, wherever he went, that he was a descendant of the 
royal Stewarts of Scotland. His descendants still assert 
that they are sprung from the royal race of Scotland. In 

* It is interesting to notice that the tliree criminals who gave occasion to 
the Porteous mob, in 1V36, were named Stewart, Wilson and Robertson. 
They were doubtless Gipsies of the above mentioned clans. Their crimes 
and modes of escape were quite in keeping with the character of the Gip- 
Bies. — Ed. 



151: A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

support of this pretension, Stewart, in the year 1774, at a 
wedding, in the parish of Corstorphine, actually wore a large 
cocked hat, decorated with a beautiful plume of white fea- 
thers, in imitation of the white cockade of the Pretender. 
On this occasion, he wore a short coat, philabeg and purse, 
and tartan hose. He sometimes wore a piece of brass, as a 
star, on his left breast, with a cudgel in his hand. Such 
ridiculous attire corresponds exactly with the taste and 
ideas of a Gipsy.* These pretensions of Stewart are ex- 
actly of a piece with the usual Gipsy policy of mak- 
ing the people believe that they are descended from families 
of rank and influence in the country. At the same time, it 
cannot be denied that some of our Scottish kings, especially 
James V, the " Gaberlunzie-man,"f were far from being scrup- 
ulous or fastidious in their vague amours. As old Charles 
Stewart was, on one occasion, crossing the Forth, at Queens- 
ferry, chained to his son-in-law, Wilson, in charge of messen- 
gers, he, wdth considerable shame in his countenance, ob- 
served David McRitchie, whose father, as already mentioned, 
kept a first-rate inn at the north-side, and in which the 
Tinkler had frequently regaled himself with his merry com- 
panions. Stewart called McRitchie to him, and, taking five 
shillings out of his pocket, said to him, " Hae, Davie, there's 
five shillings to drink my health, man ; I'll laugh at them 

* Grellmann, in giving an account of the attire of the poorer kind of Hun- 
garian Gipsies, says: We are not to suppose however that thej' are indif- 
ferent about dress ; on the contrary, they love fine clothes to an extrava- 
gant degree. Whenever an opportunity offers of acquiring a good coat, 
either by gift, purchase, or theft, the Gipsy immediately bestirs himself to 
become master of it. Possessed of the prize, he puts it on directly, with- 
out considering in the least whether it suits the rest of his apparel. If his 
dirty shirt had holes in it as big as a barn door, or his breeches so out of 
condition that any one might, at the first glance, perceive their antiquity ; 
were he unprovided with shoes and stockings, or a covering for his head ; 
none of these defects would prevent his strutting about in a laced coat, 
feeling himself of still greater consequence in case it happened to be a red 
one. They are particularly fond of clothes which have been worn by peo- 
ple of distinction, and will hardly ever deign to put on a boor's coat. They 
will rather go half naked, or wrap themselves up in a sack, than condescend 
to wear a foreign garb. Green is a favourite colour with the Gipsies, but 
scarlet is held in great estec m among them. It is the same with the Hun- 
garian female Gipsies. In Spain, they hang all sorts of trumpery in their 
ears, and baubles around their necks. 

Mr. Borrow says of the Spanish Gipsies, that there is nothing in the 
dress of either sex differing from that of the other inhabitants. The same 
may be said of the Scottish tribes, and even of those in England. — Ed. 

f Gaberlunzieman- 



FIFE AND STIRLINGSHIRE GIPSIES. 155 

a\ " He did laugh at them all, for nothing could be proved 
against him and he was immediately set at liberty. It was, 
as Charles Graham said — " The auld thing again, but nac 
proof."* 

Another very singular Gipsy, of tlie name of Jamie Rob- 
ertson, a near relation of the Lochgellie tribe, resided at 
Menstry, at the foot of the Ochil hills. James was an ex- 
cellent musician, and was in great request at fairs and coun- 
try weddings. Although characterized by a dissoluteness 
of manners, and professed roguery, this man, when trusted, 
was strictly honest. A decent man in the neighbourhood, 
of the name of Robert Gray, many a time lent him sums of 
money, to purchase large ox horns and other articles, in the 
east of Fife, which he always repaid on the very day he 
promised, with the greatest correctness and civility. The 
following anecdote will show the zeal with which he would 
resent an insult which he conceived to be oiOfered to his 
friend : In one of his excursions tlirough Fife, he happened 
to be lying on the ground, basking himself in the sun, while 
baiting his ass, on the roadside, when a countryman, an 
entire stranger to him, came past, singing, in lightness of 
heart, the song of "Auld Robin Gray," which, unfortunately 
for the man, Robertson had never heard before. On the 
unconscious stranger coming to the words " Auld Robin 
Gray was a kind man to me," the hot-blooded Gipsy started 
to his feet, and, with a volley of oaths, felled him with his 
bludgeon to the ground ; repeating his blows in the most 
violent manner, and telling him, " Auld Robin Gray was a 
kind man to him indeed, but it was not for him to make a 
song on Robin for that." In short, he nearly put the inno- 

* The unabashed hardihood of the Gipsies, in the face of suspicion, or 
even of open conviction, is not less characteristic than the facility with 
which they commit crimes, or their address in concealing them. A Gipsy 
of note, (known by the title of the " Earl of Hell,") was, about twenty yi'ars 
ago, tried for a theft of a considerable sum of money at a Dalkeith market. 
The proof seemed to the judge fully sufficient, but the jury rendered a ver- 
dict of " not proven." On dismissing the prisoner from the bar, the judge 
informed him, in his own characterislic language, " That he had rubbit 
shouthers wi' the gallows that morning ;" and warned him not again to 
appear there with a similar body of proof again-t him. as it seemed sitarcely 
possible he should meet with another jury who would construe it as fa- 
vourably. His counsel tendered him a similar advice. The Gipsy, how- 
ever, replied, to the great entertainment of all around, " That he was])r()ven 
an innocent man, and that naebody had ony right to uso siccan language 
to him." — Blackiood's Maga^iuc. — Kp. 



156 A BISTORT OF THE GIPSIES. 

cent man to death, in the heat of his passion, for satirizing^ 
as he thought, his friend in a scurrilous song. It was an in- 
variable custom with Robertson, whenever he passed Robert 
Gray's house, even were it at the dead hour of night, to 
draw out his " bread winner," and give him a few of his 
best airs, in gratitude for his kindness. 

Robertson's wife, a daughter of Martha, whose son and 
son-in-law, Brown and Wilson, were executed, as already 
mentioned, was sentenced to transportation to Botany Bay ; 
but, owing to her advanced years, it was not thought worth 
the expense and trouble of sending her over seas, and she 
was set at liberty. Her grandson, Joyce Robertson, would 
also have been transported, if not hanged, but for the assist- 
ance of some of his clan rescuing him from Stirling jail. 
So coolly and deliberately did he go about his operations, in 
breaking out of the prison, that he took along with him his 
oatmeal bag, and a favourite bird, in a cage, with which he 
had amused himself during his solitary confinement. The 
following anecdote of this audacious Gipsy, which was told 
to me by an inhabitant of Stirling, who was well acquainted 
with the parties, is, 1 believe, unequalled in the history of 
robberies : While Robertson was lying in jail, an old man, 
for what purpose is not mentioned, went to the prison win- 
dow, to speak to him through the iron stauncheons. Joyce, 
putting forth his hand, took hold of the unsuspecting man 
by the breast of his coat, and drew him close up to the iron 
bars of the window ; then thrusting out his other hand, and 
pointing a glittering knife at his heart, threatened him with 
instant death, if he did not deliver him the money he had on 
him. The poor man, completely intimidated, handed into 
the prison all the money he liad ; but had it returned, on 
the jailer being informed of the extraordinary transaction.* 
After escaping from confinement, this Gipsy stole a watch 
from a house at Alva, but had hardly got it into his posses- 
sion before he was discovered, and liad the inhabitants of 
tlie village in pursuit of him. A man, of the name of Daw- 
son, met him in his flight, and, astonished at seeing the crowd 
at his heels, enquired, impatiently, what was the matter. 

* The " game" of such a Gipsy maj- be fitly compared to that of a 
sparrow-hawk. This bird has been known, while held in the hand, aftef 
being wounded, to seize, when presented to it, a sparrow with each claw, 
o.n^ a third with its beak. — Ed. 



FIFE AND STIRLINOSHIHE GIPSIES. 157 

" They are all running after me, and you will soon run too/^ 
replied the Tinkler, without shortening his step. He took 
to Tullibody plantations, but was apprehended, and had the 
watch taken from him. 

I will notice another principal Gipsy, closely connected 
by blood with the Fife bands, and of that rank that entitled 
him to issue tokens to the members of his tribe. The name 
of this chief was Charles Wilson, and his place of residence, 
at one time, was Raploch, close by Stirling castle, where he 
possessed some heritable property in houses. He was a 
stout, athletic, good-looking man, fully six feet in stature, 
and of a fair complexion ; and was, in general, handsomely 
dressed, frequently displaying a gold watch, with many seals 
attaclied to its chain. In his appearance he was respectable, 
very polite in his manners, and had, altogether, little or 
nothing about him which, at first sight, or to the general 
public, indicated him to be a Gipsy. But, nevertheless, I 
was- assured by one of the tribe, who was well acquainted 
with him, that he spoke the language, and observed all the 
customs, and followed the practices of the Gipsies. 
t^. He was a pretty extensive horse-dealer, having at times 
in his possession numbers of the best bred horses in the 
country. He most commonly bought and sold hunters, and 
such as were suitable for cavalry ; and for some of his horses 
he received upwards of a hundred guineas apiece. In his 
dealings he always paid cash for his purchases, but accepted 
bills from his customers of respectability. Many a one pur- 
chased horses of him ; and he was taken notice of by many 
respectable people in the neighbourhood ; but the community 
in general looked upon him, and*his people, with suspicion 
and fear, and were by no means fond of quarrelling with 
any of his vindictive fraternity. When any of his customers 
required a horse from him, and told him that the matter was 
left wholly to himself, as regards price, but to provide an 
animal suitable for the purpose required, no man in Scotland 
would act with greater honour than Charles Wilson. lie 
would tlien fit his employer completely, and charge for the 
horse exactly what the price should be. To tliis manner of 
dealing he was very averse, and endeavoured to avoid it as 
much as possible. It is said he was never known to deceive 
any one in his transactions, when entire confidence was 
placed in him. But, on the other hand, when any tried to 



158 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

make a bargain with him, without any reference to himself^ 
but trusting wholly to their own judgment, he would take 
three prices for his horses, if he could obtain tliem, and 
cheat them, if it was in his power. It is said his people 
stole horses in Ireland, and sent them to him, to dispose of 
in Scotland. On one occasion his gang stole and sold in 
Edinburgh, Stirling and Dumbarton a grey stallion, three 
different times in one week. Wilson himself was almost 
always mounted on a blood-horse of the highest mettle. 

At one time, Charles Wilson travelled the country witli a 
horse and cart, vending articles which his gang plundered 
from shops in Glasgow and other places. He had an asso- 
ciate who kept a regular shop, and when Wilson happened 
to be questioned about his merchandise, he always had fic- 
titious bills of particulars, invoices and receipts, ready to 
show that the goods were lawfully purchased from his mer- 
chant, who was no other than his friend and associate. As 
Charles was chief of his tribe, he received the title of cap- 
tain, to distinguish him from the meaner sort of his race. 
Like others of his rank among the Gipsies, he generally had 
a numerous gang of youths in fairs, plundering for him in all 
directions, among the heedless and unthinking crowd. But 
he always managed matters with such art and address that, 
however much he might be suspected, no evidence could 
ever be found to show that he acted a part in such transac- 
tions. It was well understood, however, that Charlie, as 
he was commonly called, divided the contents of many a 
purse with his band ; all the plundered articles being in 
fact brought to him for distribution. 

This chief, as I have alf eady mentioned, issued tokens to 
the members of his own tribe ; a part of the polity of the 
Gipsies which will be fully described in the following chap- 
ter. But, besides these regular Gipsy tokens, he, like many 
of his nation, gave tokens of protection to his particular 
friends of the community at large. The following is one 
instance, among many, of this curious practice among the 
Gipsies. I received the particulars from the individual 
himself who obtained the token or passport from Wilson. 
My informant, Mr. Buchanan, a retired officer of tlie Excise, 
chanced, in his youth, to be in a fair at Skirling, in Peebles- 
shire, when an acquaintance of his, of the name of John 
Smith, of Carnwath Mill, received, in a tent, fifty pounds 



FIFE AND STIRLINGSHIRE GIPSIES. 159 

for horses which he had sold in the market. Wilson, who 
was acquainted with both parties, was in the tent at the 
time, and saw the latter receive the money. On leaving the 
tent, Smith mentioned to his friend that he was afraid of 
being robbed in going home, as Wilson knew he had money 
in his possession. Mr. Buchanan, being well acquainted 
with Wilson, went to him in the fair, and told him the plain 
facts ; that Smith and himself were to travel with money on 
their persons, and tliat they were apprehensive of being 
robbed of it, on their way home. The Gipsy, after hesi- 
tating for a moment, gave Buchanan a pen-knife, which he 
was to show to the first person who should offer to molest 
them ; at the same time enjoining him to keep the affair 
quite private. After my informant and his friend had 
travelled a considerable distance on their way home, they 
observed, at a little distance before them, a number of 
Tinklers — men and women — fighting together on the side 
of the road. One of the females came forward to the 
travellers, and urged them vehemently to assist her husband, 
who, she said, was like to be murdered by others who had 
fallen upon him on the highway. My friend knew quite 
well that all tlie fighting was a farce, got up for the purpose 
of robbing him and his companion, the moment they inter- 
fered with the combatants in their feigned quarrel. Instead 
of giving the woman the assistance she asked, he privately 
and very quietly, as if he wished nobody to see it, showed 
her Wilson's knife in his hand, when she immediately ex- 
claimed, " You are our friends," and called, at the same 
moment, to those engaged in the scuffle, in words to the 
same effect. Both the travellers now passed on, but, on 
looking behind them, they observed that the squabble had 
entirely ceased. The pen-knife was^returned to Wilson the 
day following. 

I may give, in this pJace, another instance of these tokens 
being granted by the Gipsies to their particular favourites 
of the community. The particulars were given to me by 
the individual with whom the incident occurred ; and the 

Gipsy mentioned I have myself seen and spoken to : A 

A , a small farmer, who resided in tlie west of Fife, 

happened to be at one of the Falkland fairs, where, in the 
evening, he fell in with old Andrew Steedman, a Gipsy horse- 
dealer from Lochgellie, witli whom he was well acquainted. 



160 A HISTORY OF TEE GIPSIES. 

They entered a public-house in Falkland to have a dram to* 
gether, before leaving tlie fair, and after some conversation 
had passed, on various subjects, Steedman observed to his 
acquaintance that it would be late in the night before he 
could reach his home, and that he might be exposed to some 
danger on the road ; but he would give liim his snuff-box, 
to present and offer a snuff to the first person who should 
offer to molest him. My informant, possessed of the Gipsy's 
snuff-box, mounted his horse, and left his acquaintance and 
Falkland behind for his home. He had not proceeded far 
on his journey, before a man in the dark seized the bridle 
of his horse, and ordered him to stop ; without, however, 
enforcing his command to surrender in that determined tone 
and manner common to highwaymen with those they intend 
to rob. The farmer at once recognized the robber to be no 
other than young Charles Graham, one of the Lochgellie 
Tinklers, whom he personally knew. Instead of delivering 
him his purse, he held out to him the snuff-box, as if nothing 
had happened, and, offering him a pinch, asked him if he was 
going to Lochgellie to-night. A sort of parley now ensued, 
the farmer feeling confident in the strength of his protec- 
tion, and Graham confounded at being recognized by an ac- 
quaintance whom he was about to rob, and who, moreover, 
was in possession of a Gipsy token. At first a dry conver- 
sation ensued, similar to that between persons unacquainted 
Avith each other when they happen to meet ; but Graham, 
recovering his self-possession, soon became very frank and 
kind, and insisted on the farmer accompanying him to a 
public-house on the road-side, where he Avoufd treat him to 
a dram. The farmer, a stout, athletic man, and no coward, 
complied with the Gipsy's invitation without hesitation. 
While drinking their li.quor, Graham took up the snuff-box, 
and examined it all over very attentively, by the light of 
the candle, and returned it, without making a single remark, 
relative either to the untoward occurrence or the snuff-box 
itself. The farmer was equally silent as to what had taken 
place ; but he could not help noticing tlie particular manner 
in which the Gipsy examined the token. They drank a 
liearty dram together, and parted the best of friends ; the 
farmer for his home, and Graham, as he supposed, for tlie 
highway, to exercise his calling. Graham, about this period, 
resided in a house belonging to Steedman, in Lochgellie. 



FIFE AND STIRLINOSHIRE GIPSIES. 161 

Instances occurred of individuals, who happened to be 
plundered, applying to Charles Wilson for his assistance to 
recover tlieir property. The particulars of the following 
case are in the words of a friend who gave me the anec- 
dote : "A boy, having received his hard-earned fee, at the 
end of a term, set out for Stirling to purchase some clothes 
for himself. On the road he was accosted by two men, who 
conversed with and accompanied him to Stirling. The lad 
proceeded accordingly to fit himself in a shop with a new 
suit, but, to his utter disappointment and grief, his small 
penny-fee was gone. The merchant questioned him about 
the road he had come, and whether he had been in company 
with any one on the way or otherwise. Upon the appear- 
ance of his companions being described, the shop-keeper 
suspected they might have picked his pocket unobserved. 
As a last resource, the boy was advised to call upon Charlie 
Wilson, and relate to him the particulars of his misfortune ; 
which he accordingly did. Charles heard his story to the 
end, and desired him to call next day, when he might be 
able to give him some information relative to his loss. The 
young lad kept the appointment, and, to his great joy, the 
Tinkler chief paid him down every farthing of his lost 
money ; but at the same time told him to ask no questions.'^ 

This Gipsy chief died within these thirty-five years in his own 
house, on the castle-hill at Stirling, whither he had removed 
from Raploch. It is stated that, for a considerable time be- 
fore his death, he relinquished his former practices, and died 
in full communion with the church.* He was, about the 
latter end of his life, reduced to considerable poverty, and 
was under the necessity of betaking himself to his original 
occupation of making horn spoons for a subsistence. In 
the days of his prosperity, Charles was considered a very 
kind-hearted and generous man to the poor ; and it seldom 
happened that poverty and distress were not relieved by 
him, when application was made to him by the needy. Al- 
though many of the more original kind of Gipsies have a 
respectable appearance, and may possess a little money, 
during the prime of life, yet the most of them, in their old 
age, are in a condition of poverty and misery. 

* In the " Monthly Visitor," for February, 1856, will be found an account 
of the conversion of one of this Gipsy clun, of the name of Jeanie AVilson. 
The tract is very appropriately headed, "A lily among thorns." — Ed. 



162 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

Charles Wilson had a family of very handsome daughters, 
one of whom was considered a perfect beauty. She did not 
travel the country, like the rest of her family, but remained 
at home, and acted as her father's housekeeper ; and, when 
any of the tribe visited him, they always addressed her by 
the title of " my lady," {raunie,) and otherwise treated her 
with great respect. This beautiful girl was, about the year 
1795, kept as a mistress by an adjutant of a Scotch regiment 
of fencible cavalry. She was frequently seen as handsomely 
and fashionably attired as the first females in Stirling ; and 
some of the troopers were not displeased to see their adju- 
tant's mistress equal in appearance to the highest dames in 
the town. But Wilson's daughters were all frequently 
dressed in a very superior manner, and could not have been 
taken for Gipsies. 

y To suit their purposes of deception, in practising their 
pilfering habits, the female Gipsies, as well as the males, 
often changed their wearing apparel. Some of them have 
been seen in four different dresses in one fair day, varying 
from the appearance of a sturdy female beggar to that of a 
young, flirting wench, fantastically dressed, and throwing 
herself, a perfect lure, in the way of the hearty, ranting, 
half intoxicated, and merry young farmers, for the sole pur- 
pose of stripping them of their money.* The following is 
given as an instance of this sort of female deception : — On a 
fair-day, in the town of Kinross, a Brae-laird,t in the same 
county, fell in with a Gipsy harpy of the above character, 
of the name of Wilson, one of Charles' daughters, it was 
understood. She had a fine person, an agreeable and pre- 
possessing countenance, was handsomely dressed, and was, 
altogether, what one would pronounce a pretty girl. Her 
charms made a very sudden and deep impression on the sus- 
ceptible laird ; and as it was an easy matter, in those times, 

* An old woman, whom I found occupying the house of Charles Wilson, 
at Raploch, in 1845, informed me that she had seen his wife in Jive differ- 
ent dresses, in one market-day. She was, at the time, a servant in a black- 
S7nith's family in Stirling, who were f/reat frienda of Charles Wilson ; and 
every time Mrs, Wilson came into the smith's house, from her plundering 
in the market, this servant girl, then nine years old, cleaned her shoes for a 
fresh expedition in the crowd. When suspected, or even detected, in their 
practices, these female Gipsies, by such change of dress and character, 
easily escaped apprehension by the authorities. 

f There are a number of small landed proprietors ' in the hill}'' parts of 
Kinross-shire ; hence the appellation of Brae-laird. 



FIFE AND STIULINOSHIRE GIPSIES. 163 

to make up acquaintance at these large and promiscuous 
gatherings, the enamoured rustic soon found means to intro- 
duce himself to the stranger lady. He treated her in a 
gallant manner, and engaged to pay his respects to her at 
her place of residence. It happened, however, that a num- 
ber of Tinklers were, that very evening, appreliended in the 
fair, for picking pockets, and a great many purses were 
found in their custody. Proclamation was made by the 
authorities, that all those who liad lost their money should 
appear at a place named, and identify their property. The 
Brae-laird, among otiiers, missed his pocket-book and purse, 
and accordingly went to enquire after them. His purse was 
produced to him ; but greatly was he ashamed and mortified 
when the thief was also shown to him, lying in prison — the 
very person of his handsome and beautiful sweetheart, now 
metamorphosed into a common Tinkler wench. Whether he 
now provoked the ire of his dulcinea, by harsh treatment, is 
not mentioned ; but the woman sent, as it were, a dagger to 
his heart, by calling out before all present : "Ay, laird, ye're 
no sae kind to me noo, lad, as when ye treated me wi' wine 
in the forenoon." The man, confounded at his exposure, 
was glad to get out of her presence, and, rather than bear 
the cutting taunts of the Gipsy, fled from the place of inves- 
tigation, leaving his money behind him.* 

It is almost needless to mention that the Stirlingshire 
Gipsies contributed their full proportion to the list of victims 
to the ofi'ended laws of the country. Although Charles 
Wilson, the chieftain of the horde, dexterously eluded justice 
himself, two of his brothers were executed witliin the mem- 
ory of people still living. Another of his relatives, of the 
name of Gordon, also underwent the last penalty of the law, 
at Glasgow, where an acquaintance of mine saw him hanged. 
Wilson had a son who carried a box of jewelry through the 
country, and was suspected of having been concerned in 
robbing a bank, at, I believe, Dunkeld. Some of the des- 
cendants of this Stirlingshire tribe still roam up and down 
the kingdom, nearly in tlie old Gipsy manner ; and several 

* It is interesting to notice such rencounters between these ])retty, genteel- 
looking Gipsies and the ordinary natives. The denouement, in this instance, 
might have been a marriage, and the plantation of a colony of Gipsies 
among the Braes of Kinross-shire. The same might have happened in the 
case of the other lady Wilson, with the adjutant at Stirling, or with one 
of hid acquaintances. — Ed. 



164 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

of them have their residence, when not on the tramp, in the 
town of Stirling. 

The great distinguishing feature in the character of the 
Gipsies is an incurable propensity for theft and robbery, 
and taking openly and forcibly (sorning) whatever answers 
their purpose. A Gipsy, of about twenty- one years of age, 
stated to me that his forefathers considered it quite lawful, 
among themselves, to take from others, not of their own fra- 
ternity, any article they stood in need of. Casting his eyes 
around the inside of my house, he said : " For instance, were 
they to enter this room, they would carry off anything that 
could be of service to them, such as clothes, money, victuals, 
&c. :" " but,'' added he, " all this proceeded from ignorance ; 
they are now quite changed in their manners." Another 
Gipsy, a man of about sixty years of age, informed me that 
the tribe have a complete and thorough hatred of the whole 
community, excepting those who shelter them, or treat them 
with kindness ; and that a dexterous theft or robbery, com- 
mitted on any of the natives among whom they travel, is 
looked upon as one of the most meritorious actions which a 
Gipsy can possibly perform. 

But the Gipsies are by no means the only nation in the world 
that have considered theft reputable. In Sparta, under the 
celebrated law-giver Lycurgus, theft was also reputable. In 
Hugh Murray's account of an embassy from Portugal to the 
Emperor of Abyssinia, in 1620, we find the following curious 
passage relative to thieves in that part of the world : " As 
the embassy left the palace, a band of thieves carried off a 
number of valuable articles, while a servant who attempted 
to defend them was wounded in the leg. The ambassadors, 
enquiring the mode of obtaining redress for this outrage, 
were assured that these thieves formed a regular part of the 
court establisliment, and that officers were appointed who 
levied a proportion of the articles stolen, for behoof his im- 
perial majesty.""^ In another part of Africa, tliere is a horde 
of Moors who go by the name of the tribe of tliieves. This 
wandering, vagabond horde do not blush at adopting this 
odious denomination. Their chief is called chief of the 
tribe of thieves.f In Hugh Murray's Asia, we have the fol- 
lowing passage relative to the professed thieves in India. 

* Vol. ii., page 17. 
f Golbery's Travels, translated by Francis Blagden. Vol. i., page 158. 



FIFE AND STIRLINOSHIBE GIPSIES. 1G5 

" Nothing tends more to call in question the mildness of 
the Hindoo disposition than the vast scale of the practice 
of decoity. This term, though essentially synonymous with 
robbery, suggests, however, very dijBferent ideas. With us, 
robbers are daring and desperate outlaws, who hide them- 
selves in the obscure corners of great cities, shunned and 
detested by all society. In India, they are regular and 
reputable persons, who have not only houses and families, 
but often landed property, and have much influence in the 
villages where they reside. This profession, like all others, 
is hereditary ; and a father has been heard, from the gallows, 
carefully admonishing his son not to be deterred, Iby his fate, 
from following the calling of his ancestors. They are very 
devout, and have placed themselves under the patronage of 
the goddess Kali, revered in Bengal above all other deities, 
and who is supposed to look with peculiar favour on achiev- 
ments such as theirs. They are even recognized by the old 
Hindoo laws, which contain enactments for the protection 
of stolen goods, upon a due share being given to the magis- 
trate. They seldom, however, commit depredations in their 
own village, or even in that immediately adjoining, but seek 
a distant one, where they have no tie to the inhabitants. 
They are formed into bands, with military organization, so 
that when a chief dies, there is always another ready to suc- 
ceed him. They calculate that they have ten chances to one 
of never being brought to justice." 

The old Hindoo law alluded to in the above passage is, I 
presume, the following enactment in the Gentoo Code, trans- 
lated by Nathaniel Brassey Halhed, page 146 : " The mode 
of shares among robbers is this : If any thieves, by the com- 
mand of the magistrate, and with his assistance, have com- 
mitted depredations upon, and brought any booty from, an- 
other province, the magistrate shall receive a share of 
one-sixth of the whole ; if they receive no command or 
assistance from the magistrate, they shall give the magis- 
trate, in that case, one-tenth of his share ; and of tlie 
remainder, their chief shall receive four shares : and whoso- 
ever among them is perfect master of his occupation, shall 
receive three shares ; also whichever of them is remarkably 
strong and stout, shall receive two shares ; and the rest shall 
receive each one share. If any one of the community of 
thieves happens to be taken, and should be released from 



166 A niSTOBY OF THE GIPSIES. 

the Cutchery, (court of justice), upon payment of a sum of 
money, all the thieves shall make good that sum by equal 
shares." — "In the Gentoo code containing this law, there 
are many severe enactments against theft and robbery of 
every description ; but these laws refer to domestic disturbers 
of their own countrymen, or violators of the first principles 
of society. The law which regulates these shares of robbers, 
refers only to such bold and hardy adventurers as sally forth 
to levy contributions in a foreign province." 

Now our Gipsies are, in one point, exactly on a level with 
the adventurers here mentioned. They look upon themselves 
as being in a foreign land, and consider it fair game to rob, 
plunder, and cheat all and every one of the " strangers" 
among whom they travel. I am disposed to believe that 
there were also rules among the Gipsy bands for dividing 
their booty, something like the old Hindoo law alluded to.* 

"We find the following curious particulars mentioned of a 
tribe among the mountains in India, who are supposed to be 
the aborigines of Hindostan. They are called Kookies or 
Lunctas. " Next to personal valour, the accomplishment 
most esteemed in a warrior is superior address in stealing ; 
and if a thief can convey, undiscovered, to his own house, 
his neighbour's property, it cannot afterwards be reclaimed ; 
nor, if detected in the act, is he otherwise punished than by 
exposure to the ridicule of the Porah, and being obliged to 
restore what he may have laid hold of." " It is a great 
recommendation in obtaining a wife, when a Kookie can 
say that his house is full of stolen articles."t There are 
several other tribes in the world among whom theft and rob- 
bery are considered meritorious actions. It appears that 
among the Coords " no one is allowed to marry a wife till 
he has committed some great act of robbery or murder." lu 
an account of Kamtschatka, it is mentioned that " among all 
these barbarous nations, excepting the Kamtschadales, theft 

* What is said here is, of course, applicable to a class, only, of the Gipsies. 
Our author need not have gone so very far away from home, for instances 
of theft and robbery being, under certain circumstances, deemed honour- 
able. Both were, at one time, followed in Scotland, when all practised 

"The good old rule, the simple plan. 
That they should take who have the powor, 
Aud they should keep who can." 

See Disquisition on the Gipsies. — Ed. 

f Asiatic Researches, vol. vii., pages 189 and 193. 



FIFE AND STIRLINOSillltE GIPSIES. 167 

is reputable, provided they do not steal in their own tribe, 
or if done with such art as to prevent discovery : on the 
other hand, it is punished very severely if discovered ; not 
for the theft, but for the want of address in the art of steal- 
ing. A Tschukotskoe girl cannot be married before she has 
shown her dexterity in this way."* 

Halhed, in apologizing for the Hindoo magistrate partici- 
pating in the plunder of banditti, which applies equally well 
to the Gipsies, remarks that, " unjust as this behaviour may 
appear in the eye of equity, it bears the most genuine stamp 
of antiquity, and corresponds entirely with the manners of 
the early Grecians, at or before the period of the Trojan 
war, and of the western nations before their emersion from 
barbarism ; a practice still kept up among the piratic States 
of Barbary, to its fullest extent by sea, and probably among 
many hordes of Tartars and Arabian banditti by land." It 
is proper to mention that the Gipsies seldom or never steal 
from one another ; at least, I never could find out an instance 
of a theft having been committed by a Gipsy on one of his 
own tribe. 

It will be seen, from the following details, that the san- 
guinary laws which have been, from time to time, promul- 
gated all over Europe against the Gipsies, were not enacted 
to put down fanciful crimes, as an author of the present day 
seems, in his travels, to insinuate. To plunder the com- 
munity with more safety to their persons, the Gipsies appear 
to have had a system of theft peculiar to themselves. Those 
of Lochgellie trained all their children to theft. Indeed, 
this has been the general practice with the tribe all over 
Scotland. Several individuals have mentioned to me that 
the Locligellie band were exercised in the art of thieving 
under the most rigid discipline. They had various ways of 
making themselves expert thieves. They frequently prac- 
tised themselves by picking the pockets of each otlier. 
Sometimes a pair of brceciies were made fast to the end of 
a string, suspended from a high part of the tent, kiln, or 
outhouse in which they happened to be encamped. Tlio 
children were set at work to try it they could, by sleight of 
hand, abstract money from the pockets of the breeches hang- 
ing in this position, without moving tliem. Sometimes they 

* Dr. James Grieve's trauslation of u Russian account of Kamtscliatl^a^ 
page 323. 



lOe A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

^ used bells in this discipline. The children who were most 
expert in abstracting* the money in this manner, were rewarded 
with applause and presents ; while, on the other hand, those 
w^ho proved awkward, by ringing the bell, or moving the 
breeches, were severely chastised. After the youths were 
considered perfect in this branch of their profession, a purse, 
or other small object, was laid down in an exposed part of 
the tent or camp, in view of all the family. While the 
ordinary business of the Gipsies was going forward, the 
children again commenced their operations, by exerting their 
ingenuity and exercising their patience, in trying to carry 
off the purse without being perceived by any one present. 
If they were detected, they were again beaten ; but if they 
succeeded unnoticed, they were caressed and liberally re- 
warded. As far as my information goes, this systematic 
<y training of the Gipsy youth was performed by the chief 
female of the bands. These women seem to have had great 
authority over their children. Ann Brown, of the Loch- 
gellie tribe, could, by a single stamp of her foot, cause the 
children to crouch to the ground, like trembling dogs under 
the lash of an angry master. The Gipsies, from these con- 
stant trainings, became exceedingly dexterous at picking 
pockets. The following instance of their extraordinary ad- 
dress in these practices, will show the effects of their careful 
training, as well as exhibit the natural ingenuity which they 
will display in compassing their ends. 

A principal male Gipsy, of a very respectable appearance, 
whose name it is unnecessary to mention, happened, on a 
market day, to be drinking in a public-house, with several 
farmers with whom he was well acquainted. The party 
observed, from the window, a countryman purchase some- 
thing at a stand in the market, and, after paying for it, thrust 
his purse into his watch-pocket, in the band of his breeches. 
One of the company remarked that it would be a very diffi- 
cult matter to rob the cautious man of his purse, without 
being detected. The Gipsy immediately offered to bet two 
bottles of wine that he would rob the man of his purse, in 
the open and public market, without being perceived by liim. 
The bet was taken, and the Gipsy proceeded about the diffi- 
cult and delicate business. Going up to the unsuspecting 
man, he requested, as a particular favour, if lie wouki ease 
the stock about his neck, which buckled behind — an article 



FIFE AND STIRLINGSniEE GIPSIES. 1G9 

of dress at tliat time in fasliion. The countryman most 
readily agreed to oblige the stranger gentleman — as he sup- 
posed him to be. The Gipsy, now stooping down, to allow 
his stock to be adjusted, placed his head against the country- 
man's stomach, and, pressing it forward a little, he reached 
down one hand, under the pretence of adjusting his shoe, 
while the other was employed in extracting the farmer's 
purse. The purse was immediately brought into the com- 
pany, and the cautious, unsuspecting countryman did not 
know of his loss, till he was sent for, and had his property 
returned to him. 

The Gipsy youth, trained from infancy to plunder, in the 
manner described, were formed into companies or bands, 
with a captain at their head. These captains were generally 
the grown-up sons of the old chieftains, who, having been 
themselves leaders in their youth, endeavoured, in their old 
age, to support, outwardly, a pretty fair character, although 
under considerable suspicion. The captains were generally 
well dressed, and could not have been taken for Gipsies. The 
youths varied in age from ten to thirty years. They travel- 
led to fairs singly, or at least never above two together, 
while their captains almost always rode on horse-back, but 
never in company with any of their men.* The band con- 
sisted of a great number of individuals, and in a fair several 
of these companies would be present ; each company acting 
independent of the others, for behoof of its own members 
and chief. Each chief, on such occasions, had his own head- 
quarters, to which his men repaired with their booty, as fast 
as they obtained it. Some of the chiefs, handsomely dressed, 
pretended to be busily employed in buying and selling horses, 
but were always ready to attend to the operations of their 

* An old Gipsy told me that he had seen one of the principal chiefs, 
dressed like a gentleman, travelling in a post-chaise, for the purpose of 
attending fairs. 

[Vidocq, of the French secret police, thus writes of the Hungarian Gip- 
sies, visiting the west of Europe : Raising my eyes towards a crowd in front 
of a menagerie, I perceived one of the false jockeys taking the purse of a fat 
glazier, whom we saw the next moment aeeking for it in his pocket ; the 
Bohemiani\\Qn entered a jeweller's shop, where were already two of the pre- 
tended Zealand peasanU, and my companion assured me that he would not 
come out until he had pilfered some of the jewels that were shown to him. 
In every part of the fair where there was a crowd, I met some of the 
lodgers of the Duchess, (the inn kept by a Gipsy woman in which he had 
spent the previous night.) — Ed,] 

8 



170 A histout of the gipsies. 

tribe, employed in plundering in the market. The purses 
were brought to the horse-dealer by the members of his band, 
who, to prevent being discovered, pretended to be buying 
horses from him, while communicating with him relative to 
their peculiar vocation. When a detection was likely to 
take place, the chief mounted a good horse, and rode off to 
a distant part of the country, previously made known to his 
men, with the whole of the booty in his custody. To this 
place the band, when all was quiet, repaired, and received 
their share of the plunder. They could communicate infor- 
mation to one another by signs, to say nothing of their lan- 
guage, which frequently enabled them to get the start of 
their pursuers. Like the fox, the dog, and the corhie, they 
frequently concealed their stolen articles in the earth. Par- 
ties of them would frequently commence sliam. fights in mar- 
kets, to facilitate the picking of the pockets of the people, 
while crowded together to witness the scuffles. 

Many of the male Gipsies used a piece of strong leather, 
like a sailmaker^s palm, having a short piece of sharp steel, 
like the point of a surgeon^s lancet, where the sailmaker has 
his thimble. The long sleeves of their coats concealed the 
instrument, and when they wished to cut a purse out of an 
arm-pocket, they stretched out the arm, and ran it flatly and 
gently along tlie cloth of the coat, opposite the pocket of the 
individual they wished to plunder. The female Gipsies 
wore, upon their forefingers, rings of a peculiar construction, 
yet nothing unusual in their appearance, excepting their 
very large size. On closing the hand, the pressure upon a 
sprirg sent forth, through an aperture or slit in the ring, a 
piece of sharp steel, something like the manner in which a 
bee thrusts out and withdraws its sting. With these inge- 
nious instruments the female Gipsies cut the outside of the 
pockets of their victims, exactly as a glazier runs his dia- 
mond over a sheet of glass. The opening once made by the 
back of the forefinger, the hand, following, was easily intro- 
duced into the pocket. In the midst of a crowded fair, the 
dexterous Gipsies, with their nimble fingers, armed with 
these invisible instruments, cut the pocket-books and purses 
of the honest farmers, as if they had been robbed by magic. 
So skillful were the wife and one of the sisters of Charles 
Wilson, in the art of thieving, that although the loss of the 
pocket-book was, in some instances, immediately discovered, 



FIFE AND STIRLINGSHIRE GIPSIES. 171 

nothing was ever found upon their persons by which their guilt 
could be established. No instrument appeared in their posses- 
sion with which the clothes of the plundered individuals could, 
have been cut, as no one dreamt that the rings on their fin- 
gers contained tools so admirably adapted for such purposes. 

The Gipsy chiefs in Scotland appeal', at one time, to have 
received a share of the plundered articles in the same man- 
ner as those of the same rank received from their inferiors 
in Hungary. Grellmann says : " Whenever a complaint is 
made that any of their people have been guilty of theft, the 
Waywode (chief) not only orders a general search to be 
made in every tent or hut, and returns the stolen goods to 
the owner, if they can be found ; but he punishes the thief, 
in presence of the complainant, with his whip. He does not, 
however, punish the aggressor from any regard to justice, 
but rather to quiet tlie plaintiff, and at the same time to 
make his people more wary in their thefts, as well as more 
dexterous in concealing their prey. These very materially 
concern him, since, by every discovery that is made, his in- 
come suffers, as the whole profit of his ofiice arises from his 
share of the articles that are stolen. Every time any one 
brings in a booty, he is obliged to give information to the 
Arch-gipsy of his successful enterprise, then render a just ac- 
count of what and how much he has stolen, in order that the 
proper division may be made. This is the situation in which 
a Gipsy looks on himself as bound to give a fair and true 
detail, though, in every other instance, he does not hesitate 
to perjure himself." 

A shrewd and active magistrate, in the west of Fife, knew 
our Scottish Gipsy depredators so well, that he caused them 
all to be apprehended as they entered the fairs held in the 
town in which he resided ; and when the market, which lasted 
for several days, was over, the Gipsies were released from 
prison, with empty pockets and hungry bellies —most effec- 
tually baffled in their designs. 

Great numbers of these Gipsy plunderers, at one time, 
crossed the Forth at the Queensferry, for the purpose of 
stealing and robbing at tlie fairs in the north of Scotland. 
They all travelled singly or in pairs. Very few persons 
know whence they came, or with whom they were connected. 
They were, in general, well dressed, and could not have been 
taken for Gipsien. Every one put up at a public-house, at 



172 A BIS TOUT OF THE GIPSIES. 

North Queensferry, kept by a Mr. McRitchie, already men- 
tioned, an inn well known in the neighbourhood for its good 
fare, and much frequented by all classes of society. In this 
house, on the morning after a fair in Dunfermline, when their 
business was all over, and themselves not alarmed by detec- 
tion, or other scaring incidents, no fewer than fourteen of 
these plunderers have frequently been seen sitting at break- 
fast, with Captain Gordon, their commander, at their head. 
The landlord's son informed me that they ate and drank of 
the best in the house, and paid most handsomely for every- 
thing they called for. I believe they were among the best 
customers the landlord had. Gipsies, however, are by no 
means habitual drinkers, or tiplers ; but when they do sit 
down, it is, in the phraseology of the sea, a complete bloiv- 
out. About this public-house, these Gipsies were perfectly 
inoffensive, and remarkably civil to all connected with it. 
They troubled or stole from none of the people about the inn, 
nor from those who lodged in the house, while they were 
within doors, or in the immediate neighbourhood. Anything 
could have been trusted with them on these occasions. At 
these meetings, the landlord's son frequently heard them 
talking in the Gipsy language. Gordon, at times, paid the 
reckoning for the whole, and transacted any other business 
with the landlord ; but, when the Gipsy company was inter- 
mixed with females, which was commonly the case, each 
individual paid his own share of the bill incurred. It 
was sometimes the practice with the young bands to leave 
their reckoning to be paid by their chiefs, who were not pre- 
sent, but who, perhaps next day, came riding up, and paid 
the expenses incurred by their men. I am informed that 
two chiefs, of the names of Wilson and Brown, often paid the 
expenses of their bands in this way. When any of these 
principal Gipsies happened to remain in the public-house all 
night, they behaved very genteelly. They paid the chamber- 
maid, boots, and waiter with more liberality than was the 
custom with mercantile travellers generally. Captain Gor- 
don, just mentioned, assumed very considerable consequence 
at this place. Frequently he hired boats and visited the 
islands in the Forth, and adjacent coasts, like a gentleman 
of pleasure. On one occasion he paid no less than a guinea, 
with brandy and eatables ad libitum, to be rowed over to 
Inch-colm, a distance of four miles. 

(140) 



FIFE AND STIRLINGSHIRE GIPSIES. 173 

The female Gipsies from the south, on visiting their friends 
at Lochgellie, in the depth of winter, often hired horses at 
the North Queensferr}^, and rode, with no small pomp and 
pride, to tlie village. Sometimes two females would ride 
upon one horse. A very decent old man, of the name of 
Thomas Chalmers, a small farmer, informed me that he him- 
self had rode to Lochgellie, with a female Gipsy behind him, 
accompanied by other two, mounted on another of his horses, 
riding witli much spirit and glee by his side. Chalmers 
said that these women not only paid more than the common 
hire, but treated the owners of the horses with as much meat 
and drink as they could take. The male Gipsies also hired 
horses at this Ferry, with which they rode to markets in the 
north. 

The young Gipsies, male and female, of whom I have 
spoken, appear to have been the flower of the different bands, 
collected and employed in a general plundering at the fairs 
in the north. So well did they pay their way at the village 
and passage alluded to, that the boatmen gave them the 
kindly name of " our frien's." These wanderers were all 
known at the village by the name of " Gillie Wheesels," or 
" Killie Wheesh,'' which, in the west of Fife, signified " the 
lads that take the purses." Old Thomas Chalmers informed 
me that he had frequently seen these sharks of boatmen 
shake these Gipsy thieves heartily by the hand, and, with a 
significant smile on their harsh, weather-beaten countenances, 
wish them a good market, as they landed them on the north 
side of the Forth, on their way to picking pockets at fairs. 

As an incident in the lives of these Gipsies, I will give 
the following, which was witnessed by Chalmers : A Gillie 
of a Gipsy horse-couper stole a black colt, in the east of 
Fife, and carried it direct to a fair in Perth, where he ex- 
changed it for a white horse, belonging to a Highlander 
wearing a green kilt. The Highlander, however, had not 
long. put the colt into the stable, before word was brought to 
him that it was gone. Suspecting the Gipsy of the theft, 
the sturdy Gael proceeded in search of him, and receiving 
positive information of the fact, he pursued him, like a 
staunch hound on the warm foot of reynard, till he overtook 
him in a house on the north side of Kinross. The Gipsy 
was taking some refreshment in the same room with Chal- 
mers, when the Highlander, in a storm of broken English, 



174 A niSTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

burst into tlieir presence. The astute and polished Gipsy 
instantly sprang to his feet, and, throwing his arms around 
the foaming Celt, embraced and hugged him in the eastern 
manner, overpowering him with expressions of joy at seeing 
him again. This quite exasperated the mountaineer : al- 
most suffocated with rage, he shook the Gipsy from, his per- 
son, with the utmost disdain, and demanded the colt he had 
stolen from him. Notwithstanding the deceitful embraces 
and forced entreaties of the Gipsy, he was, with the assist- 
ance of a messenger, at the back of the Highlander, safely 
lodged in the jail of Cupar. 

Considering the great aptitude which the Gipsies have 
always shown for working in metals, it is not surprising that 
they should have resorted to coining, among their many ex- 
pedients for circumventing and plundering the " strangers'* 
among whom they sojourn. The following instance will 
illustrate the singular audacity which they can display in 
this branch of their profession : As an honest countryman, 

©f much simplicity of character, of the name of W , 

was journeying along the public road, a travelling Tinkler, 
whom he did not know, chanced to come up to him. After 
walking and conversing for some time, the courteous Gipsy, 
on arriving at a public-house, invited him to step in, and 
have a " tasting." They accordingly entered the house, and 
had no sooner finished one half mutcJiTcin, than the liberal 
wanderer called for another ; but when the reckoning came 
to be thought of, the countryman was surprised when his 
friend the Tinkler declared that he had not a coin in his 
possession. Unfortunately, the honest man happened also to 
be without a farthing in liis pocket, and how they were to 
get out of the house, without paying the landlord, whom 
neither of them knew, puzzled him not a little. While 
meditating over their dilemma, the Gipsy, with his eyes 
rolling about in every direction, as is their wont, espied a 
pewter basin under a bed in the room. This was all lie re- 
quired. Bolting the door of the apartment, he opened his 
budget, and, taking out a pair of large shears, cut a piece 
from the side of the basin, and, putting it into his crucible 
on the fire, in no time, with his coining instruments, threw 
off several half-crowns, resembling good, sterling money. If 
the simple countryman was troubled at not being able to 
pay his reckoning, he was now terrified at being locked up 



FIFE AND STIBLINOSHIRE GIPSIES. 175 

with a man busily engaged in coining base money from an 
article stolen in the very apartment in which he was con- 
fined. He expected, every moment, some one to burst the 
door open, and apprehend them, while the Tinkler had all 
his coining apparatus about him. His companion, however, 
was not in the least disturbed, but deliberately finished his 
coin in a superior manner, and cutting the remainder of the 
basin into pieces, packed it into his wallet. Unlocking the 
door, he rang the bell, and tendered one of his half-crowns 
to his host, to pay his score, which was accepted without a 
suspicion. The Tinkler then offered his fellow-traveller part 
of his remaining coin ; but the unsophisticated man, far 
from touching one of them, was only too glad to rid himself 
of so dangerous an acquaintance. The Gipsy, on his part, 
marched off, with his spirits elevated with liquor, and his 
pockets replenished with money, smiling at the simplicity 
and terror of the countryman. 

However numerous the crimes which the Gipsies have 
committed, or the murders they have perpetrated in their 
own tribe, yet, in justice to them, I must say that only two 
instances have come to my knowledge of their having put to 
death natives of Scotland wlio were not of their own frater- 
Hity. One of these instances was that of a man of the name 
of Adam Thomson, whom they muxdered because he had en- 
croached, it was said, upon one of their supposed privileges 
— that of gathering rags through the country. Amongst 
other acts of cruelty, they placed the poor man on a fire, in 
his own house. Two Gipsies were tried for the murder, but 
whether they were both executed, I do not know. The fol- 
lowing particulars connected with this deed will show 
how exactly the Gipsies know the different routes and halt- 
ing-places of each band, as they travel through the country. 
Indeed, I have been informed that the track which each 
horde is to take, the different stages, and the number of 
days they are to remain at each place, are all marked out 
and fixed upon in the spring, before they leave their winter 
residence. One of the Gipsies concerned in the murder of 
Thomson lay in prison, in one of the towns in the south of 
Scotland, for nearly twelve months, without having liad any 
communication with his tribe. There was not sufficient evi- 
dence against Iiim to justify his being brought to trial ; nor 
would he give any information regarding tlic transaction. 



176 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

At last he changed his mind, and told the authorities they 
would find the murderer at a certain spot in the Highlands, 
on a certain day and hour of that day ; but if he could not 
be found there, they were to proceed to another place, at 
twenty miles' distance, where they would be sure to find 
him. 

The murderer was found at the place, and on the day, 
mentioned by the Gipsy. But, on entering the house, the 
constables could not discover him, although they knew he 
had been within its walls a few minutes before they ap- 
proached it. A fire having been kindled in the house, a 
noise was heard in the cliimney, which attracted the notice 
of the constables ; and, on examination, they found the ob- 
ject of their search ; the heat and smoke having caused hira 
to become restless in his place of concealment. He was se- 
cured, and some of the country-people were called upon to 
assist in carrying him to Edinburgh. The prisoner was bound 
into a cart with ropes, to prevent him making his escape ; 
the party in charge of him being aware of the desperate 
character of the man. Nothing particular occurred on the 
road, until after they had passed the town of Linlithgow, 
when, to their astonishment, they found a woman in the pangs 
of labour, in the open field. She called upon them either to 
bring her a midwife, or take her to one ; a claim that could 
not be resisted. She was accordingly put into the cart, be- 
side the prisoner, and driven with all speed to a place where 
a midwife could be procured. On arriving opposite a dell, 
full of trees and bushes, about the west-end of Kirkliston, 
the guards were confounded at seeing their prisoner, all at 
once, spring out of the cart, and, darting into the cover, 
vanish in an instant. Pursuit was immediately given, and, 
in the excitement, the unfortunate woman was left to her 
fate. In searching for the Gipsy, tliey met a gentleman 
shooting in the neighbourhood, who had observed a man hide 
himself among the bushes. On going to the spot, they found 
the criminal, lying like a fox in his hole. The sportsman, 
presenting his gun, threatened to blow out his brains, if he 
did not come out, and deliver himself up to the constables. 
On returning with him to the cart, his captors, to their as- 
tonishment, found that the woman in labour had also van- 
ished. It is needless to add that she was a Gipsy, who had 
feigned being in travail, and, while in the cart, had cut the 



FIFE AND STIRLINGSHIRE GIPSIES. 177 

ropes with which the prisoner was bound, to enable him to 
make his escape. 

'- The female Gipsies have had recourse to many expedients 
in their impositions on the public. The following is an in- 
stance, of a singular nature, that took place a good many 
years ago. When it is considered that the Gipsies, in their 
native country,* would not be encumbered witli much wear- 
ing-apparel, but would go about in a state little short of 
nudity, the extreme indecency of such an action will appear 
somewhat lessened. The inhabitants of Winchburgh and 
neighbourhood were one day greatly astonished at behold- 
ing a female, with a child in her arms, walking along the 
road, as naked as when she was born. She stated to the 
country-people that she had just been plundered, and strip- 
ped of every article of her wearing-apparel, by a band of 
Tinklers, to whom she pointed, lying in a field hard by. She 
submitted her piteous condition to the humanity of the inha- 
bitants, and craved any sort of garment to cover her naked- 
ness. The state in which she was found left not the slightest 
doubt on the minds of the spectators as to the truth of her 
representations. Almost every female in the neighbourhood 
ran with some description of clothing to the unfortunate 
woman ; so that, in a short time, she was not only comfort- 
ably clad, but had many articles of dress to spare. Shortly 
after, she left the town, and proceeded on her journey. But 
some one, observing her motions more closely than the rest, 
was astonished at seeing her go straight to the very Tinklers 
who, she said, had stripped her. Her appearance among 
her band convulsed them all with laughter, at the dexterous 
trick she had played upon the simple inhabitants. 

The following anecdote, related to me of one of the well- 
attired female Gipsies, belonging to the Stirling horde, will 
illustrate the gratitude which the Scottish Gipsies have, on 
all occasions, shown to those who have rendered them acts 
of kindness and attention : A person, belonging to Stirling, 
had rendered himself obnoxious to the Gipsies, by giving 
information relative to one of the gang, of the name of Ham- 
ilton, whom he had observed picking a man's pocket of 
forty pounds in a fair at Doune. Hamilton was apprehended 

* It 13 pretty certain that the Gipsies came from a warm country, for 
they have no words for frost or snow, as will be seen in my enquiry into 
the history of their language. 



178 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

immediately after committing the theft, but none of the 
money was found upon him. The informer, however, was 
marked out for destruction by the band, for his officious con- 
duct ; and they only waited a convenient opportunity to 
put their resolution into execution. Some time afterwards, 
the proscribed individual had occasion to go to a market at 
no great distance from Stirling, and while on his way to it, 
he observed, on the road before him, a female, in the attire 
of a lady, riding on horseback. On coming to a pond at the 
road-side, the horse suddenly made for the water, and threw 
down its head to drink. Not being prepared for the move- 
ment, the rider was thrown from her seat, with considerable 
violence, to the ground. The proscribed individual, observ- 
ing the accident, ran forward to her assistance ; but, being 
only slightly stunned, she was, with his help, safely placed 
in her seat again. She now thanked him for his kind and 
timely assistance, and informed him of the conspiracy that 
had been formed against him. She said it was particularly 
fortunate for him that such an accident had befallen her 
under the circumstances ; for, in consequence of the infor- 
mation he had given about the pocket-picking at Douue, he 
was to have been way-laid and murdered ; that very night 
having been fixed upon for carrying the resolution into ef- 
fect. But, as he had shown her this kindness, she would 
endeavour to procure, from her people, a pardon for him, 
for the past. She then directed him to follow slowly, while 
she would proceed on, at a quick pace, and overtake some 
of her people, to whom she would relate her accident, and 
the circumstances attending it. She then informed him that 
if she waved her hand, upon his coming in sight of herself 
and her people, he was to retrace his steps homeward, there 
being then no mercy for him ; but if she waved her haiul- 
JcercMef, he might advance without fear. To his heart- 
felt delight, on coming near the party, the signal of peace 
was given, when he immediately hastened forward to the 
spot. The band, who had been in deliberation upon his 
fate, informed him that the lady's intercession had prevailed 
with them to spare his life ; and that now he might con- 
sider himself safe, provided he would take an oath, there 
and then, never again to give evidence against any of 
their people, or speak to any one about their practices, 
Bhould he discover them. The person in question deemed 



FIFE AND STIRLINGSnillE GIPSIES. 179 

it prudent, under all the circumstances of tlie case, to take 
the oath ; after which, nothing to his hurt, in cither purse 
or person, ever followed.* The lady, thus equipped, and 
possessed of so much influence, was the chief female of 
the Gipsy band, to whom all the booty obtained at tlie fair 
was brought, at the house wliere she put up at for the day. 
It would seem that she was determined to save lier friend 
at all events ; for, had her band not complied with her 
wishes, the waving of her hand — the signal for him to make 
his escape — would have defeated their intentions for that 
time. 

When occurrences of so grave and imposing a nature as 
the above are taken into consideration, the fear and awe 
with which the Gipsies have inspired the community are not 
to be wondered at. 

The Gipsies at Lochgellie had a dance peculiar to them- 
selves, during the performance of which they sung a song, 
in the Gipsy language, which they called a " croon." A 
Gipsy informed me that it was exactly like the one old 
Charles Stewart, and other Gipsies, used to perform, and 
which I will describe. At the wedding near Corstorphine, 
which Charles Stewart attended, as already mentioned, there 
were five or six female Gipsies in his train. On such occa- 

* Such interference with the Gipsies causes them much greater offence 
than if the infoi-mer was a isrincipal in the transaction. To such people, 
their advice has always been: " Follow your nose, and let sleeping- dogs 
lie." The following anecdote will illustrate the way in which they have 
revenged themselves, under circumstances different from the above : 

Old AVill, of Phaup, at the head of Ettrick, was wont to shelter them for 
many years. They asked nothing but house-room, and grass for their hors- 
es ; and, though they sometimes remained for several days, he could have 
left every chest and press about the house open, with the certainty that 
nothing would be missing; for, he said, '• he aye ken'd fu' weel that the 
toad wad keep his ain hole clean." But it happened that he found one of 
the gang, through the triek of a neighbouring farmer, fec'iing six hoi'scs on 
the best piece of grass on his farm, which he was keeping for winter fod- 
der. A depperate combat followed, and ihe Gipsy was thrashed to his 
heart's content, and hunted out of the neighbourhood. A warfare of five 
years' duration ensued between Will and tlie Gipsies. They nearly ruined 
him, and, at the end of that period, he was glad to make up matters with 
his old friends, and shelter them as formerly. He said he could liave held 
his own with them, had it not been for their warlockry ; for nothing could 
he keep from them — tliey once found his purse, though he had made his 
wife bury it in the garden. — Blackwood's Maciazhie. It is the aftcrclap that 
keeps the people off the Gipsies, and secures for them a sort of tolcratiop 
wherever they go. — Ed. 



180 A HISTORY OF TEE GIPSIES. 

sions he did not allow males to accompany him. At some 
distance from the people at the wedding, but within hearing 
of the music, the females formed themselves into a ring, with 
Charles in the centre. Here, in the midst of the circle, he 
danced and capered in the most antic and ludicrous manner, 
sweeping his cudgel around his body in all directions, and 
moving with much grace and agility. Sometimes he danced 
round the outside of the circle. The females danced and 
courtesied to him, as he faced about and bowed to them. 
When they happened to go wrong, he put them to rights by 
a movement of his cudgel ; for it was by the cudgel that all 
the turns and figures of the dance were regulated. A twirl 
dismissed the females ; a cut recalled them ; a sweep made 
them squat on the ground ; a twist again called them up, in 
an instant, to the dance. In short, Stewart distinctly spoke 
to his female dancers by means of his cudgel, commanding 
them to do whatever he pleased, without opening his mouth 
to one of them. 

George Drummond, a Gipsy chief of an inferior gang in 
Fife, danced with his seraglio of females, amounting some- 
times to half a dozen, in the same manner as Stewart, with- 
out the slightest variation, excepting that his gestures were, 
on some occasions, extremely lascivious. He threw himself 
into almost every attitude in which the human body can be 
placed, while his cudgel was flying about his person with 
great violence. All the movements of the dance were regu- 
lated by the measures of an indecent song, at the chorus of 
which the circular movements of Drummond's cudgel ceased ; 
when one of the females faced about to him, and joined him 
with her voice, the gestures of both being exceedingly ob- 
scene. Drummond's appearance, while dancing, has been 
described to me, by a gentleman who has often seen him per- 
forming, as exactly like what is called a "jumping-jack" — 
that is, a human figure, cut out of wood or paste-board, with 
which children often amuse themselves, by regulating its 
ludicrous movements by means of strings attached to various 
parts of it. 

Dr. Clark, in his account of his travels through Russia, 
gives a description of a Gipsy dance in Moscow, which is, 
in all respects, very similar to that performed by Stewart 
and Drummond. These travels came into my hands some time 
after I had taken notes of the Scottish Gipsy dance. Nap- 



FIFE AND STIRLINOSEIRE GIPSIES. 181 

kins appear to have been used by the Russian Gipsies, where 
sticks were emploj^ed by our Scottish tribes. No mention, 
however, is made, by Dr. Clark, whether the females, in the 
dance at Moscow, were guided by signs with the napkins, in 
the manner in which Stewart and Drummond, by their cud- 
gels, directed their women in their dances. The eyes of the 
females were constantly fixed upon Stewart's cudgel. Dr. 
Clark is of opinion that the national dance in Russia, called 
the harina, is derived from the Gipsies ; and thinks it prob- 
able that our common hornpipe is taken from these wan- 
derers."^ 

George Drummond was, in rank, quite inferior to the 
Lochgellie band, who called him a " beggar Tinkler,'' and 
seemed to despise him. He always travelled with a number 
of females in his company. These he married after the 
custom of the Gipsies, and divorced some of them over the 
body of a horse, sacrificed for the occasion ; a description 
of both of which ceremonies will be given in another chap- 
ter. He chastised his women with his cudgel, without 
mercy, causing the blood to flow at every blow, and fre- 
quently knocked them senseless to the ground ; while he 
would call out to them, " What the deevil are ye fighting 
at — can ye no' 'gree? I'm sure there's no' sae mony o' 
ye !" although, perhaps, four would be engaged in the scuffle. 
Such was this man's impudence and audacity, that he some- 
times carried off the flesh out of the kail-pots of the farmers ; 
and so terrified were some of the inhabitants of Fife, at 
some of the Gipsy women who followed him, that, the mo- 
ment they entered their doors, salt was thrown into the fire, 
to set at defiance the witchcraft which they believed they 
possessed. One female, called Dancing Tibby, was, in par- 
ticular, an object of apprehension and suspicion. In Drum- 
mond's journeys through the country, when he came at night 
to a farmer'.s premises, where he intended to lodge, and 
found his place occupied by others of his gang, he, with- 
out hesitation, turned them out of their quarters, and 

* If I am not mistaken, Col. Todd 18 of opinion that the Gipsies origin- 
ally came from Cabool, in Afghanistan. I will here give a description of 
an Afghan dance, very like the Gipsy dance in Scotland. "The western 
Afghans are fond of a particular dance called Attutn, or GJioonihoor, in 
wliich from fourteen to twenty people move, in strange attitudes, with shout- 
ing, clapping of hands, and snapping of fingers, in a circle, round a single 
person, who plays on an instrument iu the centre."— /'/(iAcr'A- Lihi-ary. 



182 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

took possession of their warm beds himself ; letting them 
shift for themselves as they best might. This man lived 
till he was ninety years of age, and was, from his youth, im- 
pressed with a belief that he would die in the house in 
which he was born ; although he had travelled a great part 
bf the continent, and, while in the army, had been in various 
engagements. He fell sick when at some distance from the 
place of his nativity, but he hired a conveyance, and drove 
with haste to die on his favourite spot. To this house he 
was allowed admittance, where he closed his eartlily career, 
in about forty-eight hours after his arrival. Like others of 
his tribe, Drummond, at times, gave tokens of protection to 
some of his particular friends, outside of the circle of his 
own fraternity. 

James Robertson, a Gipsy closely related to the Loch- 
gellie band, of whom I have already made mention, fre- 
quently danced, with his wife and numerous sisters, in a par- 
ticular fashion, changing and regulating the figures of the 
dance by means of a bonnet ; being, I believe, the same 
dance which I have attempted to describe as performed by 
others of the tribe in Scotland. When his wife and sistei-s 
got intoxicated, which was often the case, it was a wild and 
extravagant scene to behold those light-footed damsels, with 
loose and flowing hair, dancing, with great spirit, on the 
grass, in the open field, while James was, with all his " might 
and main," like the devil playing to the witches, in " Tarn 
o^ Shanter," keeping the bacchanalians in fierce and ani- 
mated music. When like to flag in his exertions to please 
them with his fiddle, they have been heard calling loudly to 
him, like Maggie Lander to Rob the Ranter, "Play up, 
Jamie Robertson ; if ever we do weel, it will be a wonder ;" 
being totally regardless of all sense of decorum and decency. 

The Gipsies in Fife followed the same occupations, in all 
respects, as those in other parts of Scotland, and were also 
dexterous at all athletic exercises. They were exceedingly 
fond of cock-fighting, and, when the season came round for 
that amusement, many a good cock was missing from tlie 
farm-yards. The Lochgellie band considered begging a dis- 
grace to their tribe. At times they were handsomely dressed, 
wearing silver buckles in their shoes, gold rings on their 
fingers, and gold and silver brooches in the bosoms of tlieir 
ruffled shirts. They killed, at Martinmass, fat cattle for 



FIFE AND STIRLINOSEIRE OIPSIES. 183 

their winter's provisions, and lived on the best victuals the 
country could produce. It is, I believe, the common practice, 
among inferior Scotch traders, for those who receive money 
to treat the payer, or return a trifle of the payment, called 
a luck-penny : but, in opposition to this practice, the Loch- 
gellie Gipsies always treated those to whom they paid 
money for what they purchased of them. They occasionally 
attended the church, and sometimes got their children bap- 
tized : but when the clergyman refused them that privilege, 
they baptized them themselves. At their baptisms, they had 
great feastings and drinkings. Their favourite beverage, 
on such occasions, was oatmeal and whiskey, mixed. When 
intoxicated, they were sometimes very fond of arguing and 
expostulating with clergymen on points of morality. With 
regard to the internal government of the Lochgellie Gipsies, 
I can only find that they held consultations among them- 
selves, relative to their affairs, and that the females had 
votes as well as the males, but that old Charles Graham had 
the casting vote ; while, in his absence, his wife, Ann Brown, 
managed their concerns. 
l/^ There is a strict division of property among the Gipsies ; 
community of goods having no place among them. The 
heads of each family, although travelling in one band, manu- 
facture and vend their own articles of merchandise, for the 
support of their own families. The following particulars 
are illustrative of this fact among the Gipsies : — A farmer 
in Fife, who would never allow them to kindle fires in his 
out-houses, had a band of them, of about twenty-five persons, 
quartered one night on his farm. Next morning, the chief 
female borrowed from the family a large copper caldron, 
used for the purposes of the dairy, with which she had re- 
quested permission to cook the breakfast of tlie horde upon 
the kitchen fire. This having been granted, each family 
produced a small linen bag, (not the beggar's wallet,) made 
of coarse materials, containing oatmeal ; of which at least 
four were brouglit into the apartment. The female who 
prepared the repast went regularly over the bags, taking 
out the meal in proportion to the members of the families to 
which they respectively belonged, and repeated her visits in 
this manner till the porridge was ready to be served up. 

I shall conclude my account of tlic Gipsies in Fife by 
mentioning the curious fact that, within these sixty years, a 



184 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

gentleman of considerable landed property, between the 
Forth and the Tay, abandoned his relatives, and travelled 
over the kingdom in the society of the Gipsies. He married 
one of the tribe, of the name of Ogilvie, who had two 
daughters to him. Sometimes he quartered, it is said, upon 
his own estate, disguised, of course, among the gang, to the 
great annoyance of his relatives, who were horrified at the 
idea of his becoming a Tinkler, and alarmed at the claims 
which he occasionally made upon the estate. His daughters 
travel the country, at the present day, as common Gipsies. 



CHAPTER VI. 

TWEED-DALE AND CLYDESDALE GIPSIES. 

The county of Peebles, or Tweed-dale, appears to have 
been more frequented by the Gipsies than, perhaps, any 
other part of Scotland. So far back as the time of Henry 
Lord Darnley, when the Gipsies were countenanced by the 
government, we find, according to Buchanan, that this county 
was a favourite resort of banditti ; so much so, that when 
Darnley took up his residence in Peebles, for the puipose of 
shunning the company of his wife. Queen Mary, he " found 
the place so cold, so infested with thieves, and so destitute 
of provisions, that he was driven from it, to avoid being 
fleeced and starved by rogues and beggars." In the poems 
of Dr. Pennecuik, as well as in his history of Peebles-shire, 
published in the year 1715, the Gipsy bands are frequently 
taken notice of. But, notwithstanding the attachment which 
the tribe had for the romantic glens of Tweed-dale, no evi- 
dence exists of their ever having had a permanent habitation 
within the shire. They appear to have resorted to that pas- 
toral district during only the months of spring, summer and 
autumn. Their partiality for this part of Scotland may be 
attributed to three reasons. 

The first reason is, Tweed-dale was part of the district in 
which, if not the first, at least the second, Gipsy family in 
Scotland claimed, at one time, a right to travel, as its own 
peculiar privilege. The chief of this family was called Baillie, 
who claimed kindred, in the bastard line, to one of the most 
ancient families in the kingdom, of the name of Baillie, once 
Balliol.* In consequence of this alleged connexion, this 
Gipsy family also claimed, as its right, to travel in the up- 

* This claim appears doubtful, for there were Gipsies of the name of 
Baillie (Bailyow) as far back as 1540, as already mentioned. However, 
the particulars of the laird's intrigue with the beautiful Gipsy girl, arc im- 
printed on the mmds of the Gipsies of that name at the present day. 

(185) 



186 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

per ward of Lanarkshire, adjoining Tweed-dale, in which 
district the Scottish family alluded to possessed estates ; 
and one of the principal places of the Gipsy rendezvous was 
an old ruin, among the hills, in the upper part of the parish 
of Lamington, or rather Wanel in those days. 

The second reason is, that the surface of Tweed-dale is 
much adapted to the wandering disposition of the Gipsies. 
It is mountainous, but everywhere intersected by foot-paths 
and bridle-roads, affording an easy passage to the Gipsies, 
on foot or horseback. On its many hills are plenty of game ; 
and its infinite number of beautiful streams, including about 
thirty-five miles of the highest part of the Tweed, abound 
with trout of the finest quality. The Gipsies, being fond of 
game, and much addicted to poaching and fishing, flocked to 
Tweed-dale and the adjoining upland districts of a similar 
character, comprehending some of tlie most remote and least 
frequented parts in the south of Scotland. All these dis- 
tricts being covered with vast flocks of sheep, many of which 
were frequently dying of various diseases, the Gipsies never 
wanted a plentiful supply of that sort of food from the fami- 
lies of the store-masters.'^ 

And the third reason is, that, in the pastoral districts in 
the upper parts of the shires of Peebles, Selkirk, Dumfries, 
and Lanark, including all that mountainous tract of land in 
which the rivers Tweed, Annan and Clyde have their 
sources, the Gipsies were, in a great measure, secure from 
the officers of the law, and enjoyed their favourite amuse- 
ments without molestation or hindrance. 

Before, and long after, the year 1745, the male branches 
of the Baillies traversed Scotland, mounted on the best hor- 

* The Gipsies were not spared of braxy, of which they were fond. I have 
known natives of Tweed-dale and Ettrick Forest, who preferred braxy to 
the best meat killed by the hand of man. It has a particular sharp relish, 
which made them so fond of it. 

[Braxy is the flesh of sheep which have died of a certain disease. "When 
the Gipsies are taunted with eating what some call carrion, they very 
wittily reply : " The flesh of a beast which God kills must be better than 
that of one killed by the hand of man." Such flesh, " killed by the hand of 
G od," is often killed in this manner : They will administer to swine a drug 
affecting the brain only, which will cause speedy death ; when tli ey will 
call and obtain the carcass, without suspicion, and feast on the flesh, which 
has been in no way injured. — Borroio. They will also stuff wool down a 
Bhcep's throat, and direct the farmer's attention to it when near its last gasp, 
and obtain the carcass after being skinned. — Ed.] 



TWEED-DALE AND CLYDESDALE 0LPSIE8. 187 

ses to be found in the country ; themselves dressed in long 
coats, made of the finest scarlet and green cloth, ruffled at 
hands and breast, booted and spurred ; with cocked hats on 
their heads, pistols in their belts, and broad-swords by their 
sides : and at the heels of their horses followed grcyliounds, 
and other dogs of the chase, for their amusement. Some of 
them assumed the manners and characters of gentlemen, 
which they supported with wonderful art and propriety. 
The females attended fairs in the attire of ladies, riding on 
ponies, with side-saddles, in the best style. On these occa- 
sions, the children were left in charge of their servants, per- 
haps in an old out-house or hut, in some wild, sequestered 
glen, in Tweed-dale or Clydesdale. 

The greater part of tlie tenantry were kind to the Gip- 
sies, and many encouraged them to frequent their premises. 
Tweed-dale being the favourite resort of the principal horde, 
they generally abstained from injuring the property of the 
greater part of the inhabitants. Indeed, I have been in- 
formed, by eye-witnesses, that several of the farmers in 
Tweed-dale and Clydesdale, at so late a period as about the 
year 1770, accepted of entertainments from the principal 
Gipsies, dining with them in the open fields, or in some old, 
unoccupied out-house, or kiln. Their repast, on such occa- 
sions, was composed of the best viands the country could 
produce. On one occasion, a band dined on the grceii-sward, 
near Douglass-mill, when the Gipsies drank their wine, after 
dinner, as if they had been the best in the land. Some of 
the landed proprietors, however, introduced clauses in their 
leases prohibiting their tenants from harbouring tlie Gip- 
sies ; and the Laird of Dolphington is mentioned as one. 
The tribe, on hearing of the restriction, expressed great in- 
dignation at the Laird's conduct in adopting so effectual a 
method of banishing them from the district. But so strong 
were the attachments wliich some of the Gipsies displayed 
towards the inhabitants, that the chief of tlie Ruthvens 
actually wept like a child, whenever the misfortunes of the 
ancient family of Murray, of Philliphaugh, were mentioned 
to liira. 

In giving an account of the Gipsies who frequented 
Tweed-dale, and the country adjacent, I have thouglit it pro- 
per to mention particularly the family of Baillie ; for this 
family produced kings and queens, or, in their language, 



188 A EISTOHY OF THE GIPSIES. 

haurie rajahs and haurie raunies, to the Scottish Gipsies. At 
one period they seem to have exercised a sort of sovereign 
authority in tlie tribe, over almost the whole of Scotland ; 
and, according to the ordinary practice of writing history of 
a great deal more importance, they should, as the chief fa- 
mily of a tribe, be particularly noticed. 

The quarrels of the Gipsies frequently broke out in an 
instant, and almost without a visible cause. A farmer's 
wife, with whom I was acquainted, was one day sitting in 
the midst of a band of them, at work in an old out-house, en- 
quiring the news of the country of them, when, in an in- 
stant, a shower of horns and hammers, open knives, files, 
and fiery peats, were flying through the house, at one an- 
other's heads. The good-wife took to her heels immediately, 
to get out of the fray. Some of their conflicts were terrible 
in the extreme. Dr. Pennecuik, in his history of Peebles- 
shire, already referred to, gives an account of a sanguinary 
struggle that took place on his estate of Romanno, in Tweed- 
dale. The following are the particulars in his own words : 

" Upon the 1st of October, 1677, there happened at Ro- 
manno, on the very spot where now the dove-cot is built, a 
remarkable poly m achy betwixt two clans of Gipsies, the 
Fawes and the Shawes, who had come from Haddington fair, 
and were going to Harestanes, to meet two other clans of 
these rogues, the Baillies and Browns, with a resolution to 
fight them. Tliey fell out, at Romanno, among themselves, 
about dividing the spoil they had got at Haddington, and 
fought it manfully. Of the Fawes, there were four brethren 
and a brother's son ; of the Shawes, the father with three 
sons ; and several women on both sides. Old Sandie Fawe, 
a bold and proper fellow,* with his wife, then with child, 
were both killed dead upon the place ; and his brother 
George very dangerously wounded. In February, 1678, old 
Robin Shawe, the Gipsy, and his three sons, Avere hanged 
at the Grass-market, for the above-mentioned murder, com- 
mitted at Romanno ; and John Fawe was hanged, the Wed- 
nesday following, for another murder. Sir Archibald Prim- 
rose was justice general at the time, and Sir George 
McKenzie king's advocate." Contrasting the obstinate 

* It is interesting to notice that the Doctor calls this Gipsy a " bold and 
proper fellow." He was, in all probability, a fine specimen of physical 
manhood. — Ed. 



TWEED-DALE AND CLYDESDALE GIPSIES. 189 

ferocity of the Gipsy with the harmless and innocent nature 
of the dove, Dr. Penneciiik erected on the spot a dove-cot ; 
and, to commemorate the battle, placed upon the lintel of 
the door the following inscription : 

"A. D. 1683. 
The field of Gipsie blood, which here you see, 
A shelter for the harmless dove shall be." 

This Gipsy battle is also noticed by Lord Fountainhall, in 
the following extract from his MS., now in the Advocate's 
Library :—" Sixth February, 1678.— Four Egyptians, of the 
name of Shaw, were this day hanged — the father and three 
sons — for the slaughter committed by them on the Faws, 
(another tribe of these vagabonds, worse than the mendi- 
cants validi, mentioned in the code,) in a drunken squabble, 
made by them in a rendezvous they had at Romanno, with a 
design to unite their forces against the clans of Browns and 
Bailezies (Baillies), that were come over from Ireland,* to 
chase them back again, that they might not share in their 
labours ; but, in their ramble, they discovered and committed 
the foresaid murder ; and sundry of them, of both sides, 
were apprehended." — " Tne four being thrown into a hole 
dug for them in the Greyfriars churchyard, with their 
clothes on, the next morning the body of the youngest of 
the three sons, (who was scarce sixteen,) was missed. Some 
thought that, being last thrown over the ladder, and first 
cut down, and in full vigour, and not much earth placed upon 
him, and lying uppermost, and so not so ready to smother, 
the fermentation of the blood, and heat of the bodies under 
him, might cause him to rebound, and throw off the earth, 
and recover ere the morning, and steal away. Which, if 
true, he deserved his life, though the magistrates deserved a 
reprimand. But others, more probably, thought his body 
was stolen away by some chirurgeon, or his servant, to make 
an anatomical dissection on." 

About a century after this conflict, we find the nature of 
the Gipsies still unchanged. The following details of one 

* The Scottish Gipsies, as T have already said, have a tradition that their 
ancestors came into Scotland by way of Ireland. 

[The allusion to that circumstance by the Gipsies, on this occasion, was 
evidently to throw dust into the eyes of the Scottish authoriiies, by whom 
the whole tribe in Scotland were proscribed. — Ed. J 



190 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

of their general engagements will serve as a specimen of 
the obstinate and desperate manner in which, to a late 
period, they fought among themselves. The battle took 
place at the bridge of Hawick, in the spring of the year 
1772, or 1773. The particulars are derived from the*^late 
Mr. Robert Laidlaw, Tenant of Fanash, a gentleman of 
respectability, who was an eye-witness to the scene of action. 
It was understood that this battle originated in some en- 
croachments of the one tribe upon the district assigned to 
the other ; a principal source of quarrels among these wan- 
derers. And it was agreed to, by the contending parties, 
that they were to fight out their dispute the first time they 
should meet, which, as just said, happened at Hawick. 

On the one side, in this battle, was the celebrated Alex- 
ander Kennedy, a handsome and atliletic man, and head of 
his tribe. Next to him, in consideration, was little Wull 
Kuthven, Kennedy's father-in-law. This man was known, all 
over the country, by the extraordinary title of the Earl of 
Hell f and, although he was above five feet ten inches in 
height, he got the appellation of Little Wull, to distinguish 
him from Muckle William Ruthven, who was a man of un- 
common stature and personal strength.t The earl's son was 
also in the fray. These were the chief men in Kennedy's 
band. Jean Ruthven, Kennedy's wife, was also present ; 
with a great number of inferior members of the clan, males 
as well as females, of all ages, down to mere children. The 
opposite band consisted of old Rob Tait, the chieftain of his 
horde, Jacob Tait, young Rob Tait, and three of old Rob 
Tait's sons-in-law. These individuals, with Jean Gordon, 
old Tait's wife, and a numerous train of youths of both 
sexes and various ages, composed the adherents of old Rob- 
ert Tait. These adverse tribes were all closely connected 
with one another by the ties of blood. The Kennedys and 
Ruthvens were from the ancient burgh of Lochmaben. 

* This seems a favourite title among the Tinklers. One, of the name of 
Young, bears it at the present time. But the Gipsies are not singular ia 
these terrible titles. In the late Burmese war, we find his Burmese majesty 
creating one of his generals " King of Hell, Prince of Darkness." — See 
Constable's Miscellany. 

\ A friend, in writing me, says : " I still think I see him, (Muckle Wull,) 
bruising the charred peat over the flame of his furnace, with hands equal 
to two pair of hands of the modern day ; while his withered and hairy 
shackle-bones were moi'e like the postern joints of a sorrel cart-horse than 
anything else." 



TWEED-DALE AND CLYDESDiiLE GIPSIES. 191 

The whole of the Gipsies in the field, females as well as 
males, were armed with bludgeons, excepting some of the 
Tails, who carried cutlasses, and pieces of iron hoops, 
notched and serrated on either side, like a saw, and fixed to 
the end of sticks. The boldest of the tribe w^ere in front 
of their respective bands, with their children and the other 
members of their clan in the rear, forming a long train be- 
hind them. In this order both parties boldly advanced, with 
their weapons uplifted above their heads. Both sides fought 
with extraordinary fury and obstinacy. Sometimes the one 
band gave way, and sometimes the otlier ; but both, again 
and again, returned to the combat with fresh ardour. Not 
a word was spoken during the struggle ; nothing was heard 
but the rattling of the cudgels and the strokes of the cut- 
lasses. After a long and doubtful contest, Jean Ruthven, 
big with child at the time, at last received, among many 
other blows, a dreadful wound with a cutlass. She was cut 
to the bone, above and below the breast, particularly on one 
side. It was said the slashes were so large and deep that 
one of her breasts was nearly severed from her body, and 
that the motions of her lungs, while she breathed, were ob- 
served through the aperture between her ribs. But, notwith- 
standing her dreadful condition, she would neither quit the 
field nor yield, but continued to assist her husband as long 
as she was able. Her father, the Earl of Hell, was also 
shockingly wounded ; the flesh being literally cut from the 
bone of one of his legs, and, in the words of my informant, 
" hanging down over his ankles, like beef steaks." The earl 
left the field to get his wounds dressed ; but observing his 
daughter, Kennedy's wife, so dangerously wounded, he lost 
heart, and, with others of his party, fled, leaving Kennedy 
alone, to defend himself against the whole of the clan of 
Tail. 

Having now all the Tails, young and old, male and fe- 
male, to contend with, Kennedy, like an experienced warri- 
or, took advantage of the local situation of the place. Post- 
ing himself on the narrow bridge of Hawick, he defended 
himself in the defile, with his bludgeon, against the whole 
of his infuriated enemies. His handsome person, his un- 
daunted bravery, his extraordinary dexterity in handling 
his weapon, and his desperate situation, (for it was evident 
to all that the Tails thirsted for his blood, and were deter- 



192 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

mined to despatch him on the spot,) excited a general and 
lively interest in his favour, among the inhabitants of the 
town, who were present, and had witnessed the conflict with 
amazement and horror. In one dash to the front, and with 
one powerful sweep of his cudgel, he disarmed two of the 
Taits, and cutting a third to the skull, felled him to tlie 
ground. He sometimes daringly advanced upon his assail- 
ants, and drove the whole band before him, pell-mell. When 
he broke one cudgel on his enemies, by his powerful arm, 
the town's people were ready to hand him another. Still, 
the vindictive Taits rallied, and renewed the charge with 
unabated vigour ; and every one present expected that Ken- 
nedy would fall a sacrifice to their desperate fury. A party 
of messengers and constables at last arrived to 4iis relief, 
when the Taits were all apprehended, and imprisoned ; but, 
as none of the Gipsies were actually slain in the fray, they 
were soon set at liberty.* 

In this battle, it was said that every Gipsy, except Alex- 
ander Kennedy, the brave chief, was severely wounded ; 
and that the ground on which they fought was wet with 
blood. Jean Gordon, however, stole, unobserved, from her 
band, and, taking a circuitous road, came behind Kennedy, 
and struck him on the head with her cudgel. What aston- 
ished the inhabitants of Hawick the most of all, was the 
fierce and stubborn disposition of the Gipsy females. It 
was remarked that, when they were knocked down senseless 
to the ground, they rose again, with redoubled vigour and 
energy, to the combat. This unconquerable obstinacy and 
courage of their females is held in high estimation by the 

* This Gipsy battle is alluded to by Sir Walter Scott, in a postcript to a 
letter to Captain Adam Ferguson, 16tli April, 1819. 

" By the by, old Kennedy the tinker swam for his life at Jedburgh, 
and was only, by ihe sophisticated and timed evidence of a seceding doctor, 
who differed from all his brethren, saved from a well-deserved gibbet. He 
goes to botanize for fourteen years. Pray tell tiiis to the Duke (of Buccleuch,) 
for he was an old soldier of the Duke, and the Duke's old soldier. Six of 
his brethren were, I am told, in the court, and kith and kin without end. 
I am sorry so many of the clan are left. The cause of the quarrel with 
the murdered man, was an old feud between two Gipsy clans, the Kennedys 
and Irvings, which, about forty years since, gave rise to a desperate quar- 
rel and battle at Hawick-green, in which the grandfather of both Kennedy and 
the man whom he murdered were engaged," — LockharCs Life of Sir Walter 
Scott. Alexander Kennedy was tried for murdering Irving, at Yarrowford. 

[This Gipsy fray at Hawick is known among the English Gipsies as 
*' the Battle of the Bridge."— Ed.] 



TWEED-DALE AND CLYDESDALE GIPSIES. 103 

tribe. I once heard a Gipsy sing a song, which celebrated 
one of their battles ; and, in it, tlie brave and determined 
manner in which the girls bore the blows of the cudgel over 
tlieir heads was particularly applauded. 

The battle at Hawick was not decisive to either party. 
The hostile bands, a short time afterwards, came in contact, 
in Ettrick Forest, at a place, on the water of Teema, called 
Deephope. They did not, however, engage here ; but the 
females on both sides, at some distance from one another, 
with a stream between them, scolded and cursed, and, clap- 
ping their hands, urged the males again to fight. The men, 
however, more cautious, only observed a sullen and gloomy 
silence at this meeting. Probably both parties, from expe- 
rience, were unwilling to renew the fight, being aware of 
the consequences which would follow, should they^ again 
close in battle. The two clans then separated, each taking 
different roads, but both keeping possession of the disputed 
district. In the course of a few days, they again met in 
Eskdale moor, when a second desperate conflict ensued. 
The Taits were here completely routed, and driven from 
the district, in which they had attempted to travel by force. 

The country-people were horrified at the sight of the 
wounded Tinklers, after these sanguinary engagements. 
Several of them, lame and exhausted, in consequence of tlie 
severity of their numerous wounds, were, by the assistance 
of their tribe, carried through the country on the backs of 
asses ; so much were they cut up in their persons. Some of 
them, it was said, were slain outright, and never more lieard 
of. Jean Ruthven, however, who was so dreadfully slashed, 
recovered from her wounds, to the surprise of all who had 
seen her mangled body, which was sewed in different parts 
by her clan. These battles were talked of for thirty miles 
around the country. I have heard old people speak of them, 
with fear and wonder at the fierce, unyielding disposition 
of the willful and vindictive Tinklers.* 

* Grellmann, on the Hungarian Gipsies, says: ''They are loquacious 
and quarrelsome in tlie higliest degree. In the public markets, and before 
ale-houses, whei'e they are surrounded by spectators, they bawl, spit at 
each other, catch up sticks and cudgels, vapour and brandish them over 
their heads, throw dust and dirt ; now run from each other, tlien back 
again, with furious gestures and threats. The women scream, drag their 
husbands by force from the scene of action ; these break from them again, 
and return to it. The children, too, howl piteously." But I am at a loas 

9 



194 A HISTORY OF TEE GIPSIES. 

We have already seen that the female Gipsies are nearly 
as expert at handling the cudgel, and fully as fierce and un- 
yielding in their quarrels and conflicts, as the males of their 
race. The following particulars relative to a Gipsy scuffle, 
derived from an eye-witness, will illustrate how a Gipsy wo- 
man, of the name of Rebecca Keith, displayed no little dex- 
terity in the effective use which she made of her bludgeon. 

Two gangs of Gipsies, of different tribes, had taken up 
their quarters, on a Saturday, the one at the town of Dum- 
blane, the other at a farm-steading on the estate of Cromlix, 
in the neighbourhood. On the Sunday following, the Dum- 
blane horde paid a visit to the others, at their country 
quarters. The place set apart for their accommodation was 
an old kiln, of which they had possession, where they were 
feasted with abundance of savoury viands, and regaled with 
mountain dew, in copious libations, of quality fit for a prince. 
The country squad were of the Keith fraternity, and their 
queen, or head personage, at the time, was Rebecca Keith, 
past the middle age, but of gigantic stature, and great mus- 
cular power. In the course of their carousal, a quarrel 
ensued between the two gangs, and a fierce battle followed. 
The Keiths were the weaker party, but Becca, as she was 
called by the country- people, performed prodigies of valour, 
against fearful odds, with only the aid of her strong, hard- 
worn shoe, which she wielded with the dexterity and effect 
of an experienced cudgelist. She appeared, however, unable 
much longer to contend against her too numerous opponents. 
Being a great favourite with all, especially with the inmates 
of the farm which was the scene of encounter, two young 
boys — the informant and the herd-callant — who witnessed 
the engagement, and whose sympathy was altogether on the 
side of the valourous Becca, exchanged a hurried and whis- 
pering remark to each other that, '' if she had the soople of 
a flail, they thought she would do gude wark." No sooner 
said than done. The herd-boy went off at once to the barn, 
cut the thongs asunder, and returned, in a twinkling, with 

to understand the object of such an affray, as given by this author, on 
any other theory than that of collecting crowds, in the places mentioned, 
to enable them the more easily to pick pockets. For Grellmann adds : 
" After a short time, without any persons interfering, when they have cried 
and made a noise till they are tired, and without either party having re- 
ceived any personal injury, the aff"air terminates, and they separate with 
as much ostentation as if they had performed the most heroic feat." — Ed 



TWEED-DALE AND CLYDESDALE GIPSIES. 195 

the soople below his jacket, concealing it from view, with the 
cunning of a thief. Edging up to Becca, and uncovering the 
end of the weapon, it was seized upon by her with avidity. 
She flourished it in the air, and plied it with such effect, 
about the ears of her adversaries, that they were speedily 
driven off the field, with "sarks full of sore bones." In this 
furious manner would the friendly meetings of the Gipsies 
frequently terminate.* 

So formidable were the numbers of the nomadic Gipsies, 
at one time, and so alarming their desperate and sanguinary 
battles, in the upper parts of Tweed-dale and Clydesdale, 
that the fencible men in their neighbourhood, (the country- 
side was the expression,) had sometimes to turn out to quell 
and disperse them. A clergyman was, on one occasion, un- 
der the necessity of dismissing his congregation, in the 
middle of divine service, that they might quell one of these 
furious Gipsy tumults, in the immediate vicinity of the 
church.f 



* It is astonishing how trifling a circumstance will sometimes set such 
Gipsies by the ears. In England, they will frequently " cast up" the history 
of their respective families on such occasions. " What was your father, I 
would like to know ? He hadn't even an ass to carry his traps, and was a 

rogue at that, you Gipsy. My father was an honest man.' '" Honest 

man ?" — " Yes, honest man, an<l that's more than you can say of your kin." 
The other, having more of " the blood," will taunt his acquaintance with 
Bome such expression as " Gor^io like," (like the white.) — " And what are 
you, you black trash? Will blood put money in your pocket? Blood, 
indeed ! I'm a better Gipsy than you ai*e, in spite of the black devil tliat 
every one sees in your face !" Then the fray commences. 

When Gipsies take up their quarters on the premises of country people, 
a very eflFectual way of sometimes getting rid of them is to stir up discord 
among them. For when it comes to " hammers and tongs," " tongs and 
hammers," they will scatter, uttering howls of vengeance, on some more 
appropriate occasion, against their most intimate friends, who have just 
incurred their wrath, yet who will be seen " cheek by jowl" with them, per- 
haps, the next day, or even before the sun has gone down upon them ; so 
fcasily are they sometimes irritated, and so easily reconciled. — En. 

f A writer in Blackwood's Magazine mentions that the Gipsies, late in 
the seventeenth century, broke into the house of Pennicuik. when the greater 
part of the family were at church. Sir John Clerk, the j)roprietor, barri- 
caded himself in his own apartment, where he sustained a sort of siege — 
firing from the windows upon the robbers, who fired upon him in return. 
One of them, while straying through the house in quest of booty, hiippened 
to ascend the stairs of a very narrow turret, but, slipj)ing his foot, caught 
hold of the rope of the alarm bell, the ringing of which startled the congre- 
gation assembled in the parish church. They instantly came to the rescue 
of the Laird, and succeeded, it is said, in apprehending some of the Gipsieti, 



196 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

About the year 1770, the mother of the Baillies received 
some personal injury, or rather insult, at a fair at Biggar, 
from a gardener of the name of John Cree. The insult was 
instantly resented by the Gipsies ; but Cree was luckily 
protected by his friends. In contempt and defiance of the 
whole multitude in the market, four of the Baillies — Mat- 
thew, James, William, and John — all brothers, appeared on 
horse-back, dressed in scarlet, and armed with broad-swords, 
and, parading through the crowd, threatened to be 
avenged of the gardener, and those who had assisted him. 
Burning with revenge, they threw off their coats, rolled up 
the sleeves of their shirts to the shoulder, like butchers when 
at work, and, with their naked and brawny arms, and glitter- 
ing swords in their clenched hands, furiously rode up and 
down the fair, threatening death to all who should oppose 
them. Their bare arms, naked weapons, and resolute looks, 
showed that they were prepared to slaughter their enemies 
without mercy. No one dared to interfere with them, till 
the minister of the parish appeased their rage, and persuaded 
them to deliver up their swords. It was found absolutely 
necessary, however, to keep a watch upon the gardener's 
house, for six months after the occurrence, to protect him 
and his family from the vengeance of the vindictive Gipsies. 

To bring into view and illustrate the character and practices 
of our Scottish Gipsies, I will transcribe the following de- 
tails, in tlie original words, from a MS. which I received 
from the late Mr. Blackwood, as a contribution towards a 
history of the Gipsies. Mr. Blackwood did not say who the 
writer of the paper was, but some one mentioned to me that 
he was a clergyman. I am satisfied that the statements it 
contains are true, and that the William Baillie therein men- 
tioned was, in his day and generation, well known, over tlie 
greater part of Scotland, as chief of his tribe within the 
kingdom. He w^as the grandfather of the four Gipsies who, 
as just mentioned, set at defiance the whole multitude at 
Biggar fair. It will be seen, by this MS., that while the 
principal Gipsies, with their subordinates, were plundering 
the public, in all directions, they sometimes performed acts 
of gratitude and great kindness to their favourites of the 
commimity among whom they travelled. In it will also be 

who were executed. There is a written account of this daring assault kept 
in the records of the family. — Ed. 



TWEED-DALE AND CLYDESDALE GIPSIES. 197 

exhibited the cool and business-like manner in which they 
delivered back stolen purses, when circumstances rendered 
such restoration necessary. 

" There was formerly a gang of Gipsies, or pick-pockets, 
who used to frequent the fairs in Dumfries-shire, headed by 
a William Baillie, or Will Baillie, as the country-people 
were accustomed to call him, of whom the old men used to 
tell many stories. 

" Before any considerable fair, if the gang were at a dis- 
tance from the place where it was to be held, whoever of 
them were appointed to go, went singly, or, at most, never 
above two travelled together. A day or so after, Mr. Baillie 
himself followed, mounted like a nobleman ; and, as journeys, 
in those days, were almost all performed on horseback, he 
sometimes rode, for many miles, with gentlemen of the first 
respectability in the country. And, as he could discourse 
readily and fluently on almost any topic, he was often taken 
to be some country gentleman of property, as his dress and 
manners seemed to indicate. 

" Once, in a very crowded fair at Dumfries, an honest far- 
mer, from the parish of Hatton, in Annandale, had his pocket 
picked of a considerable sum, in gold, with which he was 
going to buy cattle. On discovering his loss, he immediately 
went and got a purse like the one he had lost, into which he 
put a good number of small stones, and, going into a crowded 
part of the fair, he kept a watchful eye on his pocket, and, in 
a little while, he caught a fellow in the very act of picking 
it. The farmer, who was a stout, athletic man, did not wish 
to make any noise, as he knew a more ready way of recover- 
ing his money ; but whispered to the fellow, while he still 
kept fast hold of him, to come out of the throng a little, as 
he wanted to speak to him. There he told him that he had 
lost his money, and that, if lie would get it to him again, he 
would let him go ; if not, he would have him put in jail im- 
mediately. The pick-pocket desired him to come along witli 
him, and he would see what could be done, the farmer still 
keeping close to him, lest he should escape. They entered 
an obscure house, in an unfrequented close, where they found 
Mr. Baillie sitting. The farmer told his tale, concluding 
with a promise that, as the loss of the money would hurt 
him very much, he would, if lie could get it back again, 
make no more ado about it. On which, Mr. Baillie went to 



198 A niSTORT OF THE GIPSIES. 

a concealment in tlic wall, and brought out the very purse 
the farmer had lost, with the contents untouched, which he 
returned to the farmer, who received it with much gratitude. 

" The farmer, after doing his business in the fair, got a 
little intoxicated in the evening ; on which he thought he 
would call on Mr Baillie, and give him a treat, for his kind- 
ness in restoring his purse ; but on entering the house, the 
woman who kept it, a poor widow, fell on him and abused 
him sadly, asking him what he had done to cause Mr. 
Stewart, by which name she knew Mr. Baillie, to leave her 
house ; and saying she had lost the best friend that ever she 
had, for always when he stayed a day or two in her house, 
(which he used to do twice a year,) he gave her as much as 
paid her half-year's rent ; but after he, (the farmer,) called 
that day, Mr. Stewart, she said, left her house, telling her he 
could not stay with her any longer ; but before he went, she 
said, he had given her what was to pay her half-yearns rent, 
a resource, she lamented, she would lose in future. About 
two years afterwards, the farmer again had the curiosity to 
call on her, and ask her if her lodger had ever returned. 
She said he never had, but that, ever since, a stranger had 
called regularly, and given her money to pay her rent. 

" In the parish of Kirkmichael, about eight miles from 
Dumfries, lived a widow who occupied a small farm. As 
she had a number of young children, and no man to assist 
her, she fell behind in paying her rent, and at last got a 
summons of removal. She had a kiln that stood at a con- 
siderable distance from the other houses, which was much 
frequented by Baillie's people, when they came that way ; 
and she gave them, at all times, peaceable possession, as she 
had no person to contend with them, or put them away, and 
she herself did not wish to differ with them. They, on the 
other hand, never molested anything she had. One even- 
ing, a number of them arrived rather late, and went into the 
kiln, as usual ; after which, one came into the house, to ask 
a few peats, to make a fire. She gave the peats, saying she 
believed they would soon liave to shift their quarters, as she 
herself was warned to flit, and she did not know if the next 
tenant would allow them such quiet possession, and she did 
not know what would become of herself and her helplesa 
family. Nothing more was said, but, after having put her 
children to bed, as she was sitting by the fire, in a disconso- 



TWEED-DALE AND CLYDESDALE GIPSIES. 199 

late manner, she heard a gentle tap at the door. On open- 
ing it, a genteel, well-dressed man entered, who told her he 
just wished to speak with her for a few minutes, and, sitting 
down, said he had heard she was warned to remove, and 
asked how much she was behind. She told him exactly. 
On which, rising hastily, he slipt a purse into her hand, and 
went out before she could say a single word. 

" The widow, however, kept the farm, paid off all old 
debts, and brought up her family decently ; but still, it 
grieved her that she did not know who was her benefactor. 
She never told any person till about ten years afterwards, 
when she told a friend who came to see her, when she 
was rather poorly in health. After hearing the story, he 
asked her what sort of a man he was who gave her the 
money. She said their interview was so short, and it was 
so long past, that she could recollect little of him, but only 
remembered well that he had the scar of a cut across his 
nose. On which, her friend immediately exclaimed, * Then 
Will Baillie was the man.' 

" Before the year 1740, the roads were bad through all 
the country. Carts were not then in use, and all the mer- 
chants' goods were conveyed in packs, on horseback. 
Among others, the farmers on the water of Ae, in Dum- 
fries-shire, were almost all pack-carriers. As there was lit- 
tle improvement of land then, they had little to do at home, 
and so they made their rents mostly by carrying. Among 
others, there was an uncle of my father, whose name was 
Robert McVitie, who used to be a great carrier. This man, 
once, in returning from Edinburgh, stopt at Broughton, and 
in coming out of the stable, he met a man, who asked him 
if he knew him. Robert, after looking at him for a little, 
said : ' I think you are Mr. Baillie.' He said, I am, and 
asked if Robert could lend him two guineas, and it should 
be faithfully repaid. As there were few people who wished 
to differ with Baillie, Robert told him he was welcome to 
two guineas, or more if he wanted it. He said that would 
just do ; on which Robert gave them to him, and he put them 
into his pocket. Baillie then asked, if ever he was molested 
by any person, wheri he was travelling late with his packs. 
He said he never was, although he was sometimes a little 
afraid. Baillie then gave him a kind of brass token, about 
the size of a half-crown, with some marks upon it, which he 



200 A HISTOUT OF TRE GIPSIES. 

desired hira to carry in his purse, and it might be of use 
to him some time, as he was to show it, if any person offered 
to rob him. Baillie then mounted his horse and rode off. 

" Some considerable time after this, as Robert was one 
evening travelling with his packs, between Elvanfoot and 
Moffat, two men came up to him, whom he thought very 
suspicious-looking fellows. As he was a stout man himself, 
and carried a good cudgel, he kept on the alert for a con- 
siderable way, lest they should take him by surprise. At 
last, one of them asked him if he was not afraid to travel 
alone, so late at night. He said he was under a necessity 
to be out late, sometimes, on his lawful business. But recol- 
lecting his token, he said a gentleman had once given him 
a piece of brass, to show, if ever any person troubled him. 
They desired him to show it, as it was moonlight. He gave 
it to them. On seeing it, they looked at one another, and 
then, whispering a few words, told him it was well for him 
lie had the token, which they returned ; and they left him 
directly. 

" After a lapse of nearly two years, when he had almost 
forgotten his two guineas, as he was one morning loading 
his packs, at the door of a public-house, near Gretna-green, 
he felt some person touch him behind, and, on looking 
round, saw it was Mr. Baillie, who slipped something into 
his hand, wrapped in paper, and left him, without speaking 
a single word. On opening the paper, he found three 
guineas, which was his own money, and a guinea for in- 
terest. 

" There was another gang of Gipsies that stayed mostly 
in Annandale, headed by a Jock Johnstone, as he was called 
in the country. These were counted a kind of lower caste 
than Baillie's people, who would have thought themselves 
degraded if they had associated with any of the Johnstone 
gang. Johnstone confined his travels mostly to Dumfries- 
shire ; while Baillie went over all Scotland, and even made 
long excursions into England. Johnstone kept a great 
many women about him,* several of whom had children to 
him ; and, in kiliis and in barns, Johnstone always slept in 
the middle of the whole gang. Baillie sometimes told his 

* A great many of the inferior Gipsy chiefs travelled with a number of 
women in their company ; such as George Drummond, Doctor Duds, John 
Lvmdie, and others. 



TWEED-DALE AND CLYDESDALE GIPSIES. 201 

select friends that he had a wife, but never any of them 
could find out where she stayed ; and as he used to disap- 
pear now and then, for a considerable time together, it was 
supposed he was with her. He never slept, in barn or kiln, 
with any of his people. Johnstone travelled all day in the 
midst of a crowd of women and children, mounted on asses. 
Baillie travelled always by himself, mounted on the best 
horse lie could get for money. 

" Some time in the year 1739, Johnstone, with a number of 
his women, came to the house of one Margaret Farish, an 
old woman who sold ale at Lonegate, six miles from Dum- 
fries, on the Edinburgh road. After drinking for a long 
time, some of Jock's wives and the old woman quarrelled. 
On whicli he took up the pewter pint-stoup, with which she 
measured her ale, and, giving her two or three severe blows 
on the head, killed her on the spot. Next day he was ap- 
prehended near Lockerby, and brought into Dumfries jail. 
He had a favourite tame jack-daw that he took with him in 
all his travels, and he desired it might be brought to stay 
with him in the jail, which was done. When the lords were 
coming into the circuit, as they passed the jail, the trumpet- 
ers gave a blast, on which the jack-daw gave a flutter 
against the iron bars of the window, and dropped down dead. 
When Jock saw that, he immediately exclaimed : ' Lord 
have mercy on me, for I am gone.' He was accordingly 
tried and condemned. Wlien the day of execution came, he 
would not walk to the scaffold, and so they were forced to 
carry him. The executioner, being an old man, could not 
turn him over. Several of the constables refused to touch 
him. At last, one of the burgh officers turned him oflf ; but 
the old people about Dumfries used to say that the officer 
never prospered any more after that day."* 

* Dr. Alexander Carlyle, in a note to his autobiography, mentions hav- 
ing seen this Jock Johnstone hanged. The date given by him (17;S8), dif- 
fers, however, from that mentioned above. According to him, Johnstone 
was but twenty 3'ears of age, but bold, and a great ringleader, and was con- 
demned for robbery, and being accessory to a murder. The usual place of 
execution was a moor, adjoining the town ; but, as it was strongly reported 
that the " thieves" were collecting from all quarters, to rescue tlie criminal 
from the gallows, the magistrates erected the scaffold in front of the prison, 
with a platform connecting, and surrounded it with about a hundred of the 
stoutest burgesses, armed with Lochaber axes. Jock made Irs apjiearance, 
surrounded by six officers. He was curly -haired, and fierce-looking, about 
five feet eight inches in height, and very strong of his size. At first he ap- 

9* 



203 A niSTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

The extraordinary man Baillie, who is here so often men- 
tioned, was well known in Tweed-dale and Clydesdale ; and 
my great-grandfather, who knew him well, used to say that 
he was the handsomest, the best dressed, the best looking, 
and the best bred man he ever saw. As I have already 
mentioned, he generally rode one of the best horses the 
kingdom could produce ; himself attired in the finest scar- 
let, with his greyhounds following him, as if he had been a 
man of the first rank. With the usual Gipsy policy, he re- 
presented himself as a bastard son of one of the Baillies of 
Lamington, his mother being a Gipsy. On this account, con- 
siderable attention was paid to him by the country-people ; 
indeed, lie was taken notice of by thB first in the land. But, 
from his singular habits, his real character at last became 
well known. He acted the character of the gentleman, the 
robber, the sorner, and the tinker, whenever it answered 
his purpose. He was considered, in his time, the best 
swordsman in all Scotland. With this weapon in his hand, 
and his back at a wall, he set almost everything, saving fire- 
arms, at defiance. His sword is still preserved by his 
descendants, as a relic of their powerful ancestor. The 
stories that are told of this splendid Gipsy are numerous and 
interesting. I will relate only two well-authenticated anec- 
dotes of this haurie rajah, this king of the Scottish Gipsies ; 
who was, in all probability, a descendant of Towla Bailyow, 
who, with other Gipsies, rebelled against, and plundered, 
John Faw, " Lord and Earl of Little Egypt," in the reign of 
James V. The following transaction of his has some re- 
semblance to a custom among the Arabians. 

peared astonished, but, looking around awhile, proceeded with a bold step. 
Psalms and prayers being over, and the rope fastened about his neck, he 
was ordered to mount a short ladder, attached to the gallows, in order to 
be thrown off; when he immediately seized the rope, and pulled so vio- 
lently at it as to be in danger of bringing down the gallows — causing much 
emotion among the crowd, and fear among the magistrates. Jock, becom- 
ing furious, like a wild beast, struggled and roared, and defied the six offi- 
cers to bind him; and, recovering the use of his arms, became more formid- 
able. The magistrates then with difficulty prevailed on by far tlie strongest 
man in Dumfries, for the honour of the town, to come on the scaffold. 
Putting aside the six officers, this man seized the criminal, with as little 
difficult}' as a nurse handles her child, and in a few minutes bound him 
hand and foot; and quietly laj'ing him down on his face, near the edge 
of the scaffold, retired. Jock, the moment he felt his grasp, found himself 
subdued, and, becoming calm, resigned himself to his fate. — Carlyles Au- 
tobiography. — Ed. 



TWEED-DALE AND CLYDESDALE GIPSIES. 203 

William, with his numerous horde, happened to fall in 
with a travelling packman, on a wild spot between Hawk- 
shaw and Menzion, near the source of the Tweed. The pack- 
man was immediately commanded to halt, and lay his packs 
upon the ground. Baillie then unsheathed his broadsword, 
with which he was always armed, and, with the point of the 
weapon, drew, on the ground, a circle around the trembling 
packman and liis wares. Within this circle no one of the 
tribe was allowed by him to enter but himself.* The poor 
man was now ordered to unbuckle his packs, and exhibit his 
merchandise to the Gipsies. Baillie, without the least cere- 
mony, helped himself to some of the most valuable things in 
the pack, and gave a great many to the members of his band. 
The unfortunate merchant, well aware of the character of 
his customers, concluded himself a ruined man ; and, in place 
of making any resistance, handed away his property to the 
Gipsies. But when they were satisfied, he was most agree- 
ably surprised by Baillie taking out his purse, and paying 
him, on the spot, a great deal more than the value of every 
article he had taken for himself and given to his band. The 
delighted packman failed not to extol, wherever he went, 
the gentlemanly conduct and extraordinary liberality of 
" Captain Baillie"-- a title by which he was known all over 
the country. 

The perilous situations in which Baillie was often placed 
did not repress the merry jocularity and sarcastic wit which 
he, in common with many of his tribe, possessed. He sometimes 
almost bearded and insulted the judge while sitting on the 
bench. On one of these occasions, when he was in court, 
the judge, provoked at seeing him so often at the bar, ob- 
served to him that he would assuredly get his ears cut out 
of his head, if he did not mend his manners, and abandon 
his way of life. " That I defy you to do, my lord," replied 
the Tinkler. The judge, perceiving that his ears had al- 
ready been " nailed to the tron, and cut off," and being dis- 
pleased at the effrontery and levity of his conduct, told him 

* Bruce, in his travels, when speaking of the protection afforded by the 
Arabs to shipwrecked Christians, on the coasts of tlie Red Sea, says : — 
" The Arabian, wiih his lance, draws a circle lars^e enoug^h to hold you and 
yours. He then strikes his lance in tlie sand, and bids you abide within the 
circle. You aie thus as safe, oji the desert coast of Arabia, as in a citadel ; 
there is no exatnple or exception to the contrary that has ever been known." 
—Bruce s Travels in Abyssinia. 



204 A mSTOnY OF THE GIPSIES. 

that lie was certainly a great villain. " I am not such a 
villain as your lordship," retorted Baillie. " What do you 
say ?" rejoined the judge, in great surprise at the bold man- 
ner of the criminal. " I say," continued the Gipsy, " tliat I 

am not such a villain as your lordship takes me to be." 

" William," quoth the judge, " put your words closer to- 
gether, otherwise you shall have cause to repent of your in- 
solence and audacity."* 

Tradition states that William Baillie's conduct involved 
him in numerous scrapes. He was brought before the Jus- 
ticiary Court, and had " his ears nailed to the tron, or other 
tree, and cut off, and banished the country," for his many 
crimes of " sorning, pickery, and little thieving." It also 
appears, from popular tradition, that he is the same William 
Baillie wlio is repeatedly noticed by Hume and McLaurin, 
in their remarks on the criminal law of Scotland. 

In June, 1699, William Baillie, for being an Egyptian, and 
for forging and using a forged pass, was sentenced to be 
*' hanged •, but the privy council commuted his sentence to 
banishment, but under the express condition that, if ever he 
returned to this country, the former sentence should be exe- 
cuted against him." William entered into a bond with the 
privy council, under the penalty of 500 merks, to leave the 
kingdom, and to " suffer the pains of death, in case of con- 
travention thereof." 

This Gipsy chief paid little regard to the terrible conditions 
of his bond, in case of failure ; for, on the 10th and 11th Au- 
gust, 1714, " Baillie," says Hume, " and two of his associates, 
were convicted and condemned to die ; but as far as con- 
cerned Baillie, (for the others were executed,) his doom was 
afterwards mitigated into transportation, under pain of death 
in case of return." " The jury," says McLaurin, " brought 
in a special verdict as to the sorning,t but said nothing at 

* It might be supposed that the pride of a Gipsy would have the good 
effect of rendering- him cautious not to be guilty of such crimes as subject 
liim to public shame. But here his levity of character is rendered conspic- 
uous ; for he never looks to the right or to the left in his transactions ; 
and though his conceit and pride are somewhat humbled, during the time 
of punishment, and while the consequent pain lasts ; these being over, he 
110 longer remembers his disgrace, but entertains quite as good an opinioq 
of himself as before. — Grellinanu on the Hungarian Gipsies. — Ed. 

f Sorn, (Scottish and Irish :) an arbitrary exaction, by which a chieftain 
lived at pleasure, in free quarters, among his tenants : also one who obtrudes 
himself upon another, for bed and board, is said to sorn. — BaiUy. 



TWEED-DALE AND CLYDESDALE GIPSIES. 205 

all as to any other points ; all they found proved was, that 
William, in March, 1713, had taken possession of a barn, 
without consent of the owner, and that^ during his abode in 
it, there was corn taken out of the barn, and he went away 
without paying anything for his quarters, or for any corn 
during his abode, which was for several days ; and that lie 
was liabit and repute an Egyptian, and did wear a pistol* 
and shable," (a kind of sabre.) 

" As early as the month of August, 1715, the same man, 
as I understand it," says Baron Hume, " was again indicted, 
not only for being found in Britain, but for continuing his 
former practices and course of life. Notwithstanding this 
aggravation, the interlocutor is again framed on the indul- 
gent plan ; and only infers the pain of death from the fame 
and character of being an Egyptian, joined with various acts 
of violence and sorning, to the number of three that are 
stated in the libel. Though convicted nearly to the extent 
of the interlocutor, he again escaped with transportation." 

Baillie's policy in representing himself as a bastard son of 
an ancient and honourable family had, as I have already ob- 
served, been of great service to him ; and in no way would 
it be more so than in his various trials. It is almost certain, 
as in cases of more recent times, that great interest would 
be used to save a bastard branch of an honourable house 
from an ignominious death upon the scaffold, when his crimes 
amounted only to " sorning, pickery, and little thieving, and 
habit and repute an Egyptian. "f 

* A great many of the Scottish Gipsies, in former times, carried arms. 
One of the Baillies once left his budget in a house, by mistake. A person, 
whom I knew, had the curiosity to examine it ; and he found it to contain a 
pair of excellent pistols, loaded and ready for action. 

f What our author says of " the usual Gipsy policy of making the people 
believe that they are descended from families of rank and influence in the 
country," (page 154,) and that " the greater part of them will tell you that 
they are sprung from a bastard son of this or that noble family, or other 
person of ^ank and influence, of their own surname," (117,) is doubtless 
true as a rule; but there were as likely cases of what the Gij)sies assert, 
and that Gipsy women, "in some instances, bore children to some of the 
' unspotted gentlemen' mentioned by act of parliament as having so greatly 
protected and entertained the tribe," (IH,) and that Baillie was one of 
them, (121 and 185.) If Baillie had been following the occupation, and 
bearing the rei)utation, of an ordinary native of Scotland, there would liave 
been some chance " that great interest would be used to save a bastard 
branch of an honourable house from an ignominious death upon tlie scaf- 
fold," for almost any offence he had committed, but not for one who was 
guilty of " sorning, pickery, and little thieving, and habit and repute au 



206 A histohy of the gipsies. 

The descendants of William Baillie state that he wag 
married to a woman of the name of Rachel Johnstone ; and 
that he was killed, in a scuffle, by a Gipsy of the name of 
Pinkerton, in a quarrel among themselves. Baillie being 
quite superior in personal strength to Pinkerton, his wife 
took hold of him, for fear of his destroying his opponent, 
and, while he was in her arms, Pinkerton ran him through 
witli his sword. Upon his death, his son, then a youth of 
thirteen years of age, took a solemn oath, on the spot, that 
he would never rest until the blood of his father should be 
avenged. And, true to his oath, his mother and himself fol- 
lowed the track of the murderer over Scotland, England, 
and Ireland, like staunch bloodhounds, and rested not, till 
Pinkerton was apprehended, tried, and executed. 

The following particulars, relative to the slaughter of Wil- 
liam Baillie, were published in Blackwood's Magazine, but 
apparently without any knowledge, on the part of the writer, 
of that individual's history, further than that he was a 
Gipsy. 

" In a precognition, taken in March, 1725, by Sir James 
Stewart, of Coltness, and Captain Lockhart, of Kirkton, two 
of his majesty's justices of the peace for Lanarkshire, anent 
the murder of William Baillie, brazier,^ commonly called 
Gipsy, the following evidence is adduced : — John Meikle, 
Wright, declares, that, upon the twelftli of November last, he, 
being in the house of Thomas Riddle, in Newarthill, with 
some others, the deceased, William Baillie, James Kairns, 
and David Pinkerton, were in another room, drinking, where, 
after some high words, and a confused noise and squabble, 
the said three persons, above-named, went all out ; and the 
declarant, knowing them to be three of those idle sorners 
that pass in the country under the name of Gipsies, in liopes 
they were gone off, rose, and went to the door, to take the 
air ; where, to his surprise, he saw William Baillie standing, 

Egyptian." There was doubtless a connexion, in Gipsy blood, between Baillie 
and his influential friends who saved him and his relatives so often from 
the gallows. — See Baillies of Lamingtoti and JfcLaurin'n Criminal Trials, 
ill the Index. — Ed. 

* On some of the tombstones of the Gipsies, the word " brazier'' ia 
added to their names. [Brazier is a favourite name with the Gipsies, and 
sounds better than tinker. Southey, in his Life of Bunyan, says : " It ia 
stated, in a history of Bedfordshire, that he was bred to the business of a 
brazier, and worked, as a journeyman, at Bedford." — Ed.] 



TWEED-DALE AND CLYDESDALE GIPSIES, 207 

and Kairns and Pinkerton on horseback, with drawn swordis 
in their hands, who both rushed upon the said William Bail- 
lie, and struck him with their swords ; whereupon, the said 
William Baillie fell down, crying out he was gone ; upon 
which, Kairns and Pinkerton rode off : That the declarant 
helped to carry the said William Baillie into the house, 
where, upon search, he was found to have a great cut or 
wound on his head, and a wound in his body, just below the 
slot of his breast : And declares, he, the said William Bail- 
lie, died some time after. 

" Thomas Riddle, tenant and change-keeper in Newaft- 
hill, (fee, declares, that the deceased, William Baillie, James 
Kairns, and David Pinkerton, all idle sorners, that are 
known in the country by the name of Gipsies, came to the 
declarant's, about sun-setting, where, after some stay, and 
talking a jargon the declarant did not well understand^ they 
fell a squabbling, when the declarant was in another room, 
with some other company ; upon the noise of which, the de- 
clarant ran in to them, where he found the said James Kairns 
lying above the said William Baillie, whose nose the said 
James Kairns had bitten with his teeth till it bled ; upon 
which, the declarant and his wife threatened to raise the 
town upon them, and get a constable to carry them to 
prison ; but Kairns and Pinkerton called for their horses, 
William Baillie saying he would not go with them : Declares 
that, after the said Kairns and Pinkerton had got their 
horses, and mounted, they ordered the declarant to bring a 
chopin of ale to the door to them, where William Baillie was 
standing, talking to them : That, when the declarant had filled 
about the ale, and left them, thinking they were going off, 
the declarant's wife went to the door, where Kairns struck 
at her with a drawn sword, to fright her in ; upon which 
slie ran in ; and thereupon the declarant went to the door, 
where lie found the said William Baillie, lying with the 
wounds upon him, mentioned in John Meikle's declaration.'^ 

By Hume's work on the criminal law, it appears that the 
trial of David Pinkerton, with others of his tribe, took place 
on the 22nd August, 1726, for " sorning and robbery ;" but 
no mention is made of the murder of Baillie ; yet it wa? 
Baillie's relatives that pursued Pinkerton to the gallows. 
Probably sufficient evidence could not then be adduced to 
substantiate the fact, being about twenty-one months after 



208 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

the murder was committed ; and, besides, Baillie was himself 
dead in law, having either returned from banishment, or 
remained at large in the country, and so forfeited his life, 
when he was killed by Pinkerton, in 1724. The following 
is part of the interlocutor pronounced upon the indictment 
of the prisoners : " Find the said David Pinkerton, alias Max- 
well, John Marshall, and Helen Baillie, alias Douglass, or 
any of them, their being habit and repute Egyptians, sorners 
or masterful beggars, in conjunction with said pannels, or 
any of them, their being, at the times and places libelled, 
guilty, art and part, of the fact of violence, theft, robbery, or 
attempts of robbery libelled, or any of the said facts relevant 
to infer the pain of death and confiscation of moveables." 

William Baillie was succeeded, in the chieftainship, by 
his son Matthew, who married the celebrated Mary Yowston 
or Yorkston, and became the leader of a powerful horde of 
Gipsies in the south of Scotland. He frequently visited the 
farms of my grandfather, about the year 1770. It appears 
that his courtship had been after the Tartar manner ; for he 
used to say that the toughest battle he ever fought was 
that of taking, by force, his bride, then a very young girl, 
from her mother, at the hamlet of Drummelzier.^ This 
Matthew Baillie had, by Mary Yorkston, a son, who was 
also named Matthew, and who married Margaret Campbell, 
and had by her a family of remarkably handsome and pretty 
daughters. Of this principal Gipsy family, I can trace, 
distinctly, six generations in descent, and have myself seen 
the great-great-great-grand-children of the celebrated Wil- 
liam Baillie. Some of his descendants still travel the coun- 
try, in the manner of their ancestors, and at this moment 
speak the Gipsy language with fluency. Some of them, 
however, are little better than common beggars. There 
were, at one period, a captain and a quarter-master in the 
army, belonging to the Baillie clan ; and another was a 
country surgeon. 

Mary Yorkston, above mentioned, went under the appella- 
tions of " my lady," and " the duchess," and bore the title of 
queen, among her tribe. Slie presided at the celebration of 

* The Engiish Gipsies say that tl\e old mode of getting a wife among the 
tribe was to steal hei*. The intended bride was nothing loth, still it was 
necessary to steal her, while the tribe were on the watch to detect and 
prevent it. — Ed. 



TWEED-DALE AND CLYDESDALE GIPSIES. 209 

tlieir barbarous marriages, and assisted at their equally 
singular ceremonies of divorce. What the custom of this 
queen of the Gipsies was, when in full dress, in her youth, 
on gala days, cannot now be easily known ; but the following 
is a description of her masculine figure, and public travelling 
apparel, wlien advanced in years. It was taken from the 
mouth of an aged and very respectable gentleman, tlie late 
Mr. David Stoddart, at Bankhead, near Queensferry, who 
had often seen her in his youth : She was fully six feet in 
stature, stout made in her person, with very strongly-marked 
and harsh features ; and had, altogether, a very imposing 
aspect and manner. Slie wore a large black beaver-hat, 
tied down over her ears with a handkerchief, knotted below 
her chin, in the Gipsy fashion. Her upper garment was a 
dark-blue short cloak, somewhat after the Spanish fashion, 
made of substantial woollen cloth, approaching to superfine 
in quality. The greater part of her other apparel was made 
of dark-blue camlet cloth, with petticoats so short that they 
scarcely reached to the calves of her well-set legs. [Indeed, 
all the females among the Baillies wore petticoats of the 
same length.] Her stockings were of dark-blue worsted, 
flowered and ornamented at the ankles with scarlet thread ; 
and in her shoes she displayed large, massy, silver buckles. 
The whole of her habiliments were very substantial, with 
not a rag or rent to be seen about her person. [She was 
sometimes dressed in a green gown, trimmed with red 
ribbons.] Her outer petticoat was folded up round her 
haunches, for a lap, with a large pocket dangling at each 
side ; and below her cloak she carried, between her shoul- 
ders, a small flat pack, or pad, which contained her most 
valuable articles. About her person she generally kept a 
large clasp-knife, with a long, broad blade, resembling a dag- 
ger or carving-knife ; and carried in her hand a long pole 
or pike-staff, that reached about a foot above her head. 

It was a common practice, about tlie middle of last cen- 
tury, for old female Gipsies of authority to strip, without 
hesitation, defenceless individuals of tlicir wearing-apparel 
when they met them in sequestered places. JMary York- 
ston chanced, on one occasion, to meet a shepherd's wife, 
among the wild hills in tlie parish of Stobo, and strij)pcd her 
of the wliole of lier clothes. Tlie sl»c})licrd was horrified at 
beholding his wife approaching his house in a state of perfect 



210 A HISTORY OF TEE GIPSIES. 

nakedness. A Jean Gordon was once detected, by a shep- 
herd, stripping a female of her wearing-apparel. He at once 
assisted the helpless woman ; but Jean drew from below her 
garments a. dagger, and threw it at him. Evading the blow, 
the shepherd closed in upon her, and struck her over the 
head with his staff, knocking her to the ground. Another 
Gipsy of the old fashion, of the name of Esther Grant, was 
also celebrated for the practice of stripping people of their 
clothing. The Arabian principle, expressed in these words, 
on meeting a stranger in the desert, " Undress thyself — my 
wife, (thy aunt,) is in want of a garment," is truly applica- 
ble to the disposition of the old female Gipsies. 

Nothing was more common, in the counties of Peebles 
and Lanark, when the country-people lost their purses at 
fairs, than to have recourse to the chief Gipsy females, to 
get their property returned to them. Mary Yorkston, hav- 
ing a sovereign influence and power among her tribe, was 
often applied to, in such cases of distress, of which the fol- 
lowing is a good specimen : — On one of these occasions, in a 
market in the South of Scotland, a farmer lost his purse, 
containing a considerable sum of money, which greatly per- 
plexed and distressed him. He immediately went to Mary 
Yorkston, to try if she would exert her wonderful influence 
to recover his property. Being a favourite of Mary's, she, 
without the least hesitation, took him along with her to the 
place in tbe fair where her husband kept his temporary 
depot, or rather his office, in which he exercised his extra- 
ordinary calling during the continuance of the market. The 
presence of Mary was a sufficient assurance that all was 
right ; and, upon the matter being explained, Matthew 
Baillie instantly produced, and spread out before the aston- 
ished farmer, from twenty to thirty purses, and desired 
him to pick out his own from amongst them. The country- 
man soon recognized his own, and grasped at it without 
ceremony. " Hold on," said Baillie, " let us count its con- 
tents first." The Gipsy chief, with the greatest coolness 
and deliberation, as if he had been an honest banker or 
money-changer, counted over the money in the purse, when 
not a farthing was found wanting. " There is your purse, 
sir," continued Baillie ; " you see what it is, when honest 
people meet !" 

The following incident, that occurred one night after a 



TWEED-DALE AND CLYDESDALE GIPSIES. 211 

fair, in a barn belonging to one of my relatives, will strik- 
ingly illustrate the cliaracter of the Gipsies in the matter of 
ste'aling purses : — A band of superior Gipsies were quar- 
tered in the barn, after several of them had attended the 
fair, in their usual manner. The principal female, whom I 
shall not name, had also been at the market ; but the old 
chief had thought proper to remain at home, in the barn. 
My relative, as was sometimes his custom, chanced to take 
a turn about his premises that night, when it was pretty 
late. He heard the voice of a female weeping in the barn, 
and, being curious to know the cause of the disturbance 
among the Tinklers, stepped softly up, close to the back of 
the door, to listen to what they were doing, as the woman 
was crying bitterly. He was greatly astonished at hearing, 
and never could forget, the following expressions : " Oh, 
cruel man, to beat me in this way. I have had my hands in 
as good as twenty pockets, but the honest people had it not 
to themselves." The chieftain was, in fact, chastising his 
wife, in the presence of his family, for her want of diligence 
or success, in not obtaining enough of booty at the fair. 
And yet this individual bore, among the country-people, the 
character of an honest man. 

Another story is told of Mary Yorkston and the Good- 
man of Coulter-park. It differs in its nature from the 
above anecdote, yet is very characteristic of tlie Gipsies. 
Mary and her band were lurking one night at a place in 
Clydesdale, called Raggingill. As a man on horseback ap- 
proached the spot where they were concealed, some of the 
tribe immediately laid hold of the horse, and, without cere- 
mony, commenced to plunder the rider. But Mary, step- 
ping forth to superintend the operation, was astonished to 
find that the horseman was her particular friend, the Good- 
man of Coulter-park. She instantly exclaimed, with all her 
might : " It's Mr. Lindsay, the Gudeman o' Couter-park — 
let him gang — let him gang— God bless him, honest man !" 
It is needless to add that Mr. Lindsay had always given 
Mary and her horde the use of an out-house when they re- 
quired it. 

Mary Yorkston despised to ask what is properly under- 
derstood to be alms. She sold liorn spoons and other 
articles ; and, when she made a bargain, she would take, 
almost by force, what slic called her " boontith," which is 



213 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

a present of victuals, exclusive of the cash paid ; a prac- 
tice which I will explain further on in tlie chapter. 

Matthew Baillie had, by Mary Yorkston, among other 
children, a son, named James Baillie, who, along with his 
brothers, as we have seen, threatened with destruction the 
people assembled in Biggar fair, in consequence of an affront 
offered to his mother by a gardener of that town. He was 
condemned, in 1771, to be hung, for the murder of his wife, 
by beating her with a horse-whip, and tumbling her over a 
steep ; but he " obtained a pardon from the king, on condi- 
tion that he transported himself beyond seas within a limited 
time, otherwise the pardon was to have no effect." Baillie, 
paying little regard to the serious conditions of this pardon, 
did not " transport himself beyond seas," but continued 
his former practices, as appears by the following extract 
from the Weekly Magazine of the 8th October, 1772 :— 
" James Baillie, who was last summer condemned for the 
murder of a woman, and afterwards obtained his majesty's 
pardon, on condition of transporting himself to America, for 
life, was lately apprehended at Falkirk, on suspicion of rob- 
bery. On the 1st October he was brought to town, and 
committed to the Tolbooth, by a warrant of Lord Auchin- 
leck. This warrant was granted upon the petition of the 
procurator fiscal of Stirling, in which he set forth that, as 
Baillie was a very daring fellow, and suspected of being 
concerned with a gang equally so with himself, there was 
great reason to apprehend a rescue might be attempted, by 
breaking the prison ; and therefore praying that he miglit 
be removed to Edinburgh, where a scheme of that nature 
could not so easily be effected." On the 18th December, 
1773, and 27th February, 1774, the " Lords, in terms of the 
said former sentence, decree and adjudge the said James 
Baillie to be hanged on the SOtli March then next." He 
thus appears to have remained in prison from October, 1772, 
till March, 1774. " Soon after this sentence, he got another 
pardon," and was again discharged from prison, in order to 
his transporting himself ; but he remained at home, and again 
relapsed into his former way of life. He was, some time 
afterwards, committed to Newcastle gaol, but made his 
escape. A short time after that, he was committed to 
Carlisle gaol, on suspicion of having stolen some plate. On 
the 4th December, 1776, three sheriff- officers set out from 



TWEED-DALE AI\^D CLYDESDALE GLDSLES. 213 

Edinburgli, to bring him liithcr ; but before they reached 
Carlisle, he had again broken prison and escaped.* 

During one of the periods of Baillie's imprisonment, he 
escaped from jail, attired as a female ; having been assisted 
by some of his tribe, residing in the Grass-market of Edin- 
burgli. Tradition states that the then Mistress Baillie, of 
Lamington, and her family, used all their interest in obtain- 
ing these pardons for James Baillie ; who, like his fathers 
before him, pretended to be a bastard relative of the family 
of Lamington, and thereby escaped the punishment of death. 
McLaurin justly remarks that " few cases have occurred in 
which there has been such an expenditure of mercy. "t 

I have already mentioned how handsomely the superior 
order of Gipsies dressed at the period of which we are 
speaking. The male head of the Ruthvens — a man six feet 
some inches in height — who, according to the newspapers 
of the day, lived to the advanced age of 11^ years, when in 
full dress, in his youth, wore a white wig, a ruffled shirt, a 
blue Scottish bonnet, scarlet breeches and waistcoat, a long 
blue superfine coat, white stockings, with silver buckles in 
his shoes. Others wore silver brooches in their breasts, 
and gold rings on their fingers. The male Gipsies in Scot- 
land were often dressed in green coats, black breeches, and 
leathern aprons. The females were very partial to green 
clothes. At the same time, the following anecdote will 
show how artful they were at all times, by means of dress 
and other equipments, to transform themselves, like actors 
on tlie stage, into various characters, whenever it suited 
their purposes.^ 

My father, when a young lad, noticed a large band of 

♦Scot's Magazine, vol. xxxviii., page 675. 
f McLaurin's Trials, page 565, [See note at page 205. — Ed.] 
\ It appears, from Yidocq's memoirs, that the Gipsies on the continent 
changed their apparel, so as they could not again be recognized : " At break 
of day everybody was on foot, and the general toilet was made. But for 
their (the (iipsies') prominent features, their raven-black tresses, and oily 
and tanned skins, I should scarcely have recognized my companions of the 
preceding evening. The men, clad in rich jockey Holland vests, with 
leathern sashes like those worn by the men of Poirsy, and the women, 
covered with ornaments of gold and silver, assumed the costume of Zealand 
peasants ; even the children, whom I had seen covered with rags, were 
neatly clothed, and had an entirely different appearance. All soon left the 
house, and took different directions, that they might not reach the market 
place together, where the country-people were assembled in crowds." — 
Yidocq had lodged all night in a ruinous house, with a baud of Gipsies. 



214 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

Gipsies taking up their quarters one night in an old out« 
^ house on a farm occupied by his father. The band had 
never been observed on the farm before, and seemed all to 
be strangers, with, altogether, a very ragged and miserable 
appearance. Next morning, a little after breakfast, as the 
band began to pack up their baggage, and load their asses, 
preparatory to proceeding on their journey, the youth, out 
of curiosity, went forward to see the horde decamp. Among 
other articles of luggage, he observed a large and heavy 
sack put upon one of the asses ; and, as the Gipsies were 
fastening it upon the back of the animal, the mouth of it 
burst open, and the greater part of its contents fell upon 
the ground. He was not a little surprised when he beheld 
a great many excellent cocked hats, suits of fine green 
clothes, great- coats, <fec., with several handsome saddles and 
bridles, tumble out of the bag. At this unexpected accident, 
the Gipsies were much disconcerted. By some strange ex- 
pressions and odd manoeuvres, they endeavoured to drive 
the boy from their presence, and otherwise engage his at- 
tention, to prevent him observing the singular furniture 
contained in the unlucky sack. By thus carrying along 
with them these superior articles, so unlike their ordinary 
wretched habiliments, the ingenious Gipsies had it always 
in their power to disguise themselves, whenever circum- 
stances called for it. The following anecdote will, in some 
measure, illustrate the " gallant guise" in which these wan- 
derers, at one time, rode through Scotland : 

About the year 1768, early in the morning of the day of 
a fair, held annually at Peebles, in the month of May, two 
gentlemen were observed riding along the only road that 
led to my grandfather's farm. One of the servant girls was 
immediately told to put the parlour in order, to receive the 
strangers, as, from their respectable appearance, at a dis- 
tance, it was supposed they were friends, coming to break- 
fast, before going to the market ; a custom common enough 
in the country. This preparation, however, proved unneces- 
sary, as the strangers rode rapidly past the dwelling-house, 
and alighted at the door of an old smearing-house, nearly 
roofless, situated near some alder trees, about three hundred 
yards further up a small mountain stream. In passing, they 
were observed to be neatly dressed in long green coats, 
cocked hats, riding-boots and spurs, armed with broad- 



TWEED-DALE AND CLYDESDALE GIPSIES. 215 

swords, and mounted on handsome grey ponies, saddled and 
bridled ; evertliing, in short, in style, and of the best 
quality. The people about the farm were extremely curious 
to know who these handsomely-attired gentlemen could be, 
who, without taking the least notice of any one, dismounted 
at the wretched hovel of a sheep-smearing house, where 
nothing but a band of Tinklers were quartered. Their 
curiosity, however, was soon satisfied, and not a little mirth 
was excited, on it being ascertained that the gallant horse- 
men were none other than James and William Baillie, sons 
of old Matthew Baillie, who, with part of his tribe, were, at 
the moment, in the old house, making horn spoons. But 
greater was their surprise, when several of the female 
Gipsies set out, immediately afterwards, for the fair, attired 
in very superior dresses, with the air of ladies in the middle 
ranks of society.* 

Besides the large hordes that traversed the south of Scot- 
land, parties of twos and threes also passed through the 
country, apparently not at all connected, nor in communica- 
tion, at the time, with the large bands. When a single 
Gipsy and his wife, or other female, were observed to take 
up their quarters by themselves, it was supposed they liad 
either fallen out with their clan, or had the officers of the 
law in pursuit of them. Sometimes the chiefs would enquire 
of the country people, if such and such a one of their tribe 
had passed by, this or that day, lately. Under any circum- 
stances, the presence of a female does not excite so much 
suspicion as a single male. In following their profession, as 
tinkers, the Gipsies seldom, or never, travel without a female 
in their company, and, I believe, they sometimes hire them 
to accompany them, to hawk their wares through the coun- 
try. The tinker keeps himself snug in an out-house, at his 
work, while the female vends his articles of sale, and forages 
for him, in the adjoining country. 

One of these straggling Gipsies, of the name of William 
Keith, was apprehended in an old smearing-house, on a farm 
occupied by my grandfather, in Tweed-dale. William had 
been concerned, with his brother Robert, in the murder of 



horses, with side-saddles and bridles, the ladieB themselves being very 
gaily dressed. Tlie males wore scarlet cloaks, reaching to their kuees, and 
resembling exactly the Spanish fashion of the present day. 



216 A HISTORY OF TEE GIPSIES. 

one of their clan, of the name of Charles Anderson, at a small 
public-house among the Lammermoor hills, called Lourie's 
Den. Robert Keith and Anderson had fallen out, and had 
followed each other for some time, for the purpose of fighting 
out their quarrel. They at last met at Lourie's Den, when 
a terrible combat ensued. The two antagonists were bro- 
thers-in-law ; Anderson being married to Keith's sister. 
Anderson proved an over-match for Keith ; and William 
Keith, to save his brother, laid hold of Anderson ; but Mage 
Greig, Robert's wife, handed her husband a knife, and called 
on him to despatch him, while unable to defend himself. 
Robert repeatedly struck with the knife, but it rebounded 
from the ribs of the unhappy man, without much effect. Im- 
patient at the delay, Mage called out to him, " strike laigh, 
strike laigh in ;" and, following her directions, he stabbed 
Anderson to the heart. The only remark made by any of 
the gang was this exclamation from one of them : " Gude 
faith, Rob, ye have done for him noo !" But William Keith 
was astonished when he found that Anderson was stabbed 
in his arms, as his interference was only to save the life of 
his brother from the overwhelming strength of Anderson. 
Robert Keith instantly fled, but was immediately pursued by 
people armed with pitchforks and muskets. He was appre- 
hended in a braken-bush, in which he had concealed himself, 
and was executed at Jedburgh, on the 24th November, 
1772. 

Sir Walter Scott, and the Ettrick Shepherd, slightly notice 
this murder at Lourie's Den, in their communications to 
Blackwood's Magazine. One of the individuals who assisted 
at the apprehension of Keith was the father of Sir Walter 
Scott. The following notice of this bloody scene appeared 
in one of the periodical publications at the time it occurred : 
" By a letter from Lauder, we are informed of the following 
murder : On Wednesday se'night, tliree men, with a boy, 
supposed to be tinkers, put up at a little public-house near 
Soutra. From the after conduct of two of the men, it would 
appear that a difference had subsisted between them, before 
they came into the house, for they had drunk but very little 
wlien the quarrel was renewed with great vehemence, and, in 
the dispute, one of the fellows drew a knife, and stabbed the 
other in the body no less than seven different times, of which 
wounds he soon after expired. The gang then immediately 



TWEED-DALE AND CLYDESDALE GIPSIES. 217 

made off ; but upon the country-people being alarmed, the 
murderer himself and one of the women were apprehended."* 
Long after this battle took place, James bartram and 
Robert Brydon, messengers-at-arms in Peebles, were dis- 
patched to apprehend William Keith, in the ruinous house 
already mentioned. As they entered the building, early in 
the morning, with cocked pistols in their hands, Keith, a 
powerful man, rose up, half naked, from his sJiake-doivn, and, 
holding out a pistol, dared them to advance. Bartram, the 
chief officer, with the utmost coolness and bravery, advanced 
close up to the muzzle of the Gipsy^s pistol, and, clapping his 
own to the head of the desperate Tinkler, threatened him 
with instant death if he did not surrender. A Gipsy, who 
had informed against Keith, was with the officers, as their 
guide ; but the moment he saw Keith's pistol, he artfully 
threw himself, upon his back, to the ground. He imme- 
diately rose to his feet, but, in great terror, sprang, like a 
greyhound, over a fauld dyJce, to escape a shot which 
Keith threatened. The intrepid conduct of the officers com- 
pletely daunted the Gipsy. He yielded, and allowed him- 
self to be hand-cuffed, thinking that the messengers were 
strongly supported by the servants on the farm ; for, on per- 
ceiving only the two officers, he became desperate, but he 
was now fast in irons. In great bitterness he exclaimed, 
" Had I not, on Saturday night, observed five stout men on 
Mr. Simson's turf-hill, ye wadna a' hae ta'en me." The five 
individuals were all remarkably strong men. It was on 
Monday morning the Gipsy was apprehended, and it would 
appear he had been reconnoitering on Saturday, before risk- 
ing to take up his quarters, which he did without asking 
permission from any one. He imagined that the five turf- 
casters were ready to assist the officers in the execution of 
their duty, and that it would have been in vain for him to 
make any resistance. The frantic Gipsy now leaped and 
tossed about in the most violent manner imaginable. He 
struck with so much vigour, with his hands bound in irons, 
and kicked so powerfully with his feet, that it was with the 
greatest difficulty the officers could get him carried to the 
jail at Peebles. His wife came into the kitchen of the farm- 
house, weeping and wailing excessively ; and on some of the 
servant-girls endeavouring to calm her grief, she, among 

* Weekly Magazine, 10th September, 1112, page 354. 

10 



218 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

other bitter expressions, exclaimed, " Had a decent, Lonest 
man, like the master, informed, I would not have cared ; but 
for a blackguard like ourselves to inform, is unsuflferable." 
Keith was tried, condemned, and banished to the planta- 
tions, for the part he acted at the slaughter at Lourie's Den. 

Here we have seen the melancholy fate of two, if not 
three, of the then Gipsy constabulary force in Peebles-shire ; 
one murdered, another hanged, and the third banished. 
However strange it may appear at the present day, it is 
nevertheless true, that the magistrates of this county, about 
this period, (1772,) actually appointed and employed a num- 
ber of the principal Gipsies as peace officers, constables, or 
country-keepers, as they were called, of whom I will speak 
again in another place. * 

The nomadic Gipsies in general, like the Baillies in par- 
ticular, have gradually declined in appearance, till, at the 
present day, the greater part of them have become little 
better than beggars, when compared to what they were in 
former times. Among those who frequented the south of 
Scotland were to be found various grades of rank, as in all 
other communities of men. There were then wretched and 
ruffian-looking gangs, in whose company the superior Gipsies 
would not have been seen. 

The reader will have observed the complete protection 
which William Baillie's token afforded Robert McVitie, 
when two men were about to rob him, while travelling with 
his packs, between Elvanfoot and Moffat. This system of 
tokens made part of the general internal polity of the Gip- 
sies. These curious people stated to me tliat Scotland was 
at one time divided into districts, and that each district was 
assigned to a particular tribe. The chieftains of these tribes 
issued tokens to the members of their respective hordes, 
" when they scattered themselves over the face of the coun- 
try." The token of a local chieftain protected its bearer 
only while within his own district. If found without this 
token, or detected travelling in a district for which the 
token was not issued, the individual was liable to be plun- 
dered, beaten, and driven back into his own proper territory, 
by those Gipsies on whose rights and privileges he had in- 
fringed. These tokens were, at certain periods, called in 
and renewed, to prevent any one from forging them. They 
were generally made of tin, with certain characters impres- 



TWEED-DALE AND CLYDESDALE GLPSIES. 219 

Bed upon them ; and the token of each tribe had its own 
particular mark, and was well known to all the Gipsies in 
Scotland. But while these passes of the provincial chief- 
tains were issued only for particular districts, a token of the 
Baillie family protected its bearer throughout the kingdom 
of Scotland ; a fact which clearly proves the superiority of 
that ancient clan. Several Gipsies have assured me that 
" a token from a Baillie was good over all Scotland, and that 
kings and queens had come of that family." And an old 
Gipsy also declared to me that the tribes would get into 
utter confusion, were the country not divided into districts, 
under the regulations of tokens. It sometimes happened, as 
in the case of Robert McYitie and others, that the Gipsies 
gave passes or tokens to some of their particular favourites 
who were not of their own race. 

This system of Gipsy polity establishes a curious fact, 
namely, the double division and occupation of the kingdom 
of Scotland ; by ourselves as a civilized people, and by a 
barbarous community existing in our midst, each subject to 
its own customs, laws and government ; and that, while the 
Gipsies were preying upon the vitals of the civilized society 
which harboured them, and were amenable to its laws, they 
were, at the same time, governed by the customs of their 
own fraternity. 

The surnames most common among the old Tweed-dale 
bands of Gipsies were Baillie, Ruthven, Kennedy, Wilson, 
Keith, Anderson, Robertson, Stewart, Tait, Geddes, Grey, 
Wilkie and Halliday. The three principal clans were the 
Baillies, Ruthvens and Kennedys ; but, as I have already 
mentioned, the tribe of Baillie were superior to all others, 
in point of authority as well as in external appearance.**" 

Besides the christian and surnames common to them in 
Scotland, the Gipsies have names in their own language ;t 

• According to Hoyland, the most common names among the English 
tented Gipsies are Smith, Cooper, Draper, Taylor, Boswell, Lee, Lovel, 
Loversedge, Allen, Mansfield. Glover, Williams, Carew, Martin, Stanley, 
Berkley, Plunket, and Corrie. Mr. Borrow says : " The clans Young and 
Smith, or Curraple, still haunt two of the eastern counties. The name Cur- 
raple is a favourite among the English Gipsies. It means a smith — a name 
very appropriate to a Gipsy. The root is Curaio, to strike, hammer, Ac." 
Among the Englisli and Scottish Gipsies in America, I have found a great 
variety of surnames. — Ed. 

f In the " Gipsies in Spain." Mr. Borrow says: " Every family in Eng- 



220 A HISTOUY OF THE GIPSIES. 

and. while travelling through the country, assume new names 
every morning, before commencing the day's journey, and 
retain them till money is received, in one way or other, by 
each individual of the company ; but if no money is received 
before twelve o'clock, they all, at noon-tide, resume their 
permanent Scottish names. They consider it unlucky to set 
out on a journey, in the morning, under their own proper 
names ; and if they are, by any chance, called back, by any 
of their neighbours, they will not again stir from home for 
that day. The Gipsies also frequently change their British 
names when from home : in one part of the country they 
have one name, and in another part they appear under a 
different one, and so on. 

I will now describe the appearance of the Gipsies in 
Tweed-dale during the generation immediately following the 
one in which we have considered them ; and would make 
this remark, that this account applies to them of late years, 
with this exception, that the numbers in which the nomadic 
class are to be met with are greatly reduced, their condi- 
tion greatly fallen, and the circumstances attending their 
reception, countenance and toleration, much modified, and in 
some instances totally changed. 

Within the memories of my father and grandfather, which 
take in about the last hundred years, none of the Gipsies 
who traversed Tweed-dale carried tents with them for their 
accommodation. The whole of them occupied the kilns and 
out-houses in the country ; and so thoroughly did they know 
the country, and where these were to be found, and the dis- 
position of the owners of them, that they were never at a 
loss for shelter in their wanderings. 

Some idea may be formed of the number of Gipsies who 
would sometimes be collected together, from the following 
extract from the Clydesdale Magazine, for May, 1818 : 
"Mr. Steel, of Kilbucho Mill, bore a good name among 
' tanderal gangerals.' His kiln was commodious, and some 
hardwood trees, which surrounded his house, bid defiance 
to the plough, and formed a fine pasture-sward for the cud- 
dies, on a green of considerable extent. On a summer Sat- 
urday night, Mary came to the door, asking quarters, pretty 

land has two names : one by which they are known to the Gentiles, and 
another which they use among themselves." — ^Ed. 



TWEED-DALE AND CLYDESDALE GIPSIES. 221 

late. She had only a single ass, and a little boy swung in 
the panniers. She got possession of the kiln, as usual, and 
the ass was sent to graze on the green ; but Mary was only 
the avant-garde. Next morning, when the family rose, they 
counted no less than forty cuddies on the grass, and a man 
for each of them in the kiln, besides women and children.'' 
Considering the large families the Gipsies generally have, 
and allowing at this meeting two asses for carrying the in- 
fants and luggage of each family, there could not have been 
less than one hundred Gipsies on the spot. 

My parents recollect the Gipsies, about the year 1775, 
traversing the county of Tweed-dale, and parts of the sur- 
rounding shires, in bands varying in numbers from ten to 
upwards of thirty in each horde. Sometimes ten or twelve 
horses and asses were attached to one large horde, for the 
purpose of carrying the children, baggage, &c. In the sum- 
mer of 1784, forty Gipsies, in one band, requested permis- 
sion of my father to occupy one of his out-houses. It was 
good-humouredly observed to them that, when such numbers 
of them came in one body, they should send their quarter- 
master in advance, to mark out their camp. The Gipsies 
only smiled at the remark. One half of them got the house 
requested ; the other half occupied an old, ruinous mill, a 
mile distant. There were above seven of these large bands 
which frequented the farms of my relatives in Tweed-dale 
down to about the year 1790. A few years after this period, 
w^hen a boy, I assisted to count from twenty-four to thirty 
Gipsies who took up their quarters in an old smearing-house 
on one of these farms. The children, and the young folks 
generally, were running about the old house like bees flying 
about a hive. Their horses, asses, dogs, cats, poultry, and 
tamed birds were numerous. 

These bands did not repeat their visits above twice &, 
year, but in many instances the principal families remained 
for three or four weeks at a time. From their manner and 
conduct generally, they seemed to think that they had a 
right to receive, from the family on whose grounds they 
halted, food gratis for twenty-four hours ; for, at the end of 
that period, they almost always provided victuals for them- 
selves, however long they might remain on the farm. The 
servants of my grandfatlier, when these large bands arrived, 
frequently put on the kitchen lire the large family kail-pot^ 



S22 A HIST OUT OF THE GIPSIES. 

of the capacity of thirty-two Scotch pints, or about sixteen 
gallons, to cook victuals for these wanderers. 

The first announcement of the approach of a Gipsy band 
was the chief female, with, perhaps, a child on her back, and 
another walking at her feet. The chieftain himself, with his 
asses and baggage, which he seldom quits, is, perhaps, a mile 
and a half in the rear, baiting his beasts of burden, near the 
side of the road, waiting the return and report of his quar- 
ter-mistress. This chief female requests permission for her 
gude-man and iveary bairns to take up their quarters for the 
night, in an old out-house. Knowing perfectly the disposi- 
tion of the individual from whom she asks lodgings, she is 
seldom refused. A farmer's wife, whom I knew, on granting 
this indulgence to a female in advance of her band, added, 
by way of caution, " but ye must not steal anything from 
me, then." " Well no' play ony tricks on you, mistress ; 
but others will pay for that," was the Gipsy's reply. 

Instead, however, of the chief couple and a child or two, 
the out-house, before night-fall, or next morning, will perhaps 
contain from twenty to thirty individuals of all ages and 
sexes. The different members of the horde are observed to 
arrive at head-quarters as single individuals, in twos, and in 
threes ; some of the females with baskets on their arms, 
some of the males with fishing-rods in their hands, trout 
creels on their backs, and large dogs at their heels. The 
same rule is observed when the camp breaks up. The old 
chief and two or three of his family generally take the van. 
The other members of the band linger about the old house 
in which they have been quartered, for several days after 
the chiefs are gone ; they, however, move off, in small parties 
of twos or as single individuals, on different days, till the 
whole horde gradually disappear. Above tliree grown-up 
Gipsies are seldom seen travelling together. In this manner 
have the Gipsies traversed the kingdom, concealing their 
numbers from public observation, and only appearing in large 
bands on the grounds of those individuals of the community 
who were not disposed to molest them. On such occasions, 
when the chief Gipsies continued encamped, they would be 
visited by small parties of their friends, arriving and de- 
parting almost daily. 

Excepting that of sometimes allowing their asses to go, 
under night, into the barn-yard, as if it were by accident, to 



TWEED-DALE AND CLYDESDALE GIPSIES. 223 

draw the stacks of corn, it is but fair and just to state, that 
I am not aware of a single Gripsy ever having injured the 
property of any of my relatives in Tweed-dale, although 
their opportunities were many and tempting. My ancestor's 
extensive business required him, almost daily, to travel, on 
horseback, over the greater part of the south of Scotland ; 
and he was often under the necessity of exposing himself^ 
by riding at night, yet he never received the slightest moles- 
tation, to his knowledge, from the Gipsies. They were as 
inoffensive and harmless as lambs to him, and to every one 
connected with his family. Whenever they beheld him, 
every head was uncovered, while they would exclaim, 
*' There is Mr. Simson ; God bless him, honest man !" And 
woe would have been to that man who would have dared to 
treat him badly, had these determined wanderers been 
present. 

The Gipsies may be compared to the raven of the rock, as 
a complete emblem of their disposition. Allow the corhie 
shelter, and to build her nest in your cliffs and wastes, and 
she will not touch your property ; but harass her, and destroy 
her brood, and she will immediately avenge herself upon 
your young lambs, with terrible fury.* Washings of clothes, 
of great value, were often left out in the fields, under night, 
and were as safe as if they had been within the dwelling- 
house, under lock and key, when the Gipsies happened to be 
quartered on the premises. If any of their children had 
dared to lay its hands upon the most trifling article, its pa- 
rents would have given it a severe beating. On one occa- 
sion, when a Gipsy was beating one of his children, for 
some trifling offence it had committed, my relative observed 
to him that the boy had done no harm. " If he has not 
been in fault just now, sir, it will not -be long till he be in 
one ; so the beating he has got will not be thrown away on 
him," was the Tinkler's reply. 

* It is known that the rock-raven, or corhie, seldom prejs upon the flocka 
around her nest ; but the moment she is deprived of her youn^, she will, 
to the utmost of her power, wreak her vengeance on the young lambs in 
her immediate neighbourhood. 1 have known the corbie, when bereaved of 
her brood, tear, with her beak, the very foggage from the earth, and toss 
it about ; and before twenty -four liours elapsed, several lambs would fall 
a sacrifice to her fury. I have also observed that grouse, where the 
ground suits their breeding, are generally very plentiful close around the 
eyrie of the relentless falcon. 



224 A HIS TOBY OF THE GIPSIES. 

When the Gipsies took up their residence on the cold 
earthen floor of an old out-liouse, the males and females of 
the different families had always beds by themselves, made 
of straw and blankets, and called shake-downs. The younger 
branches also slept by themselves, in separate beds, the 
males apart from the females. When the band consisted of 
more families than one, each family occupied a separate part 
of the floor of the house, distinct from their neighbours ; 
kindled a separate fire, at which they cooked their victuals ; 
and made horn spoons and other articles for themselves, for 
sale in the way of their calling. They formed, as it were, 
a camp on the ground-floor of the ruinous house, in which 
would sometimes be observed five mothers of families, some 
of whom would be such before they were seventeen years of 
age. The principal Gipsies who, about this period, travelled 
Tweed-dale, were never known to have had more than one 
wife at a time, or to have put away their wives for trifling 
causes. 

On such occasions, the chief and the grown-up males of 
the band seldom or never set foot within the door of the 
farm-house, but generally kept themselves quite aloof and 
retired ; exposing themselves to observation as little as pos- 
sible. They employed themselves in repairing broken 
china, utensils made of copper, brass and pewter, pots, pans 
and kettles, and white-iron articles generally ; and in making 
horn spoons, smoothing-irons, and sole-clouts for ploughs. 
But working in horn is considered by them as their favourite 
and most ancient occupation. It would certainly be one of 
the first employments of man, at a very early stage of human 
society — that of converting the horns of animals for the use 
of the human race : and such has been the regard which 
the Gipsies have had for it, that every clan knows the 
spoons which are made by another. The females also 
assisted in polishing, and otherwise finishing, the spoons. 
However early the farm-servants rose to their ordinary em- 
ployments, they always found the Tinklers at work. 

A considerable portion of the time of the males was occu- 
pied in athletic amusements. They were constantly exer- 
cising themselves in leaping, cudgel-playing, throwing the 
nammer, casting the putting-stone, playing at golf, quoits, 
and other games ; and while they were much given, on other 
occasions, to keep themselves from view, the extraordinary 



TWBED- DALE AND CLYDESDALE GIPSIES. 225 

ambition which they all possessed, of beating every one they 
met with, at these exercises, brought them sometimes in con- 
tact with the men about the farm, master as well as servants. 
They were fond of getting the latter to engage with them, 
for the purpose of laughing at their inferiority in these 
healthy and manly amusements ; but when any of the coun- 
try-people chanced to beat them at these exercises, as was 
sometimes the case, they could not conceal their indignation 
at the affront. Their haughty scowl plainly told that they 
were ready to wipe out the insult in a different and more 
serious manner. Indeed, they were always much disposed 
to treat farm-servants with contempt, as quite their inferiors 
in the scale of society ; and always boasted of their own 
high birth, and the antiquity of their family. They were 
extremely fond of the athletic amusement of "o'erending 
the tree," which was performed in this way : The end of a 
spar or beam, above six feet long, and of a considerable 
thickness and weight, is placed upon the upper part of the 
right foot, and held about the middle, in a perpendicular 
position, by the right hand. Standing upon the left foot, 
and raising the right a little from the ground, and drawing 
it as far back as possible, and then bringing the foot for- 
ward quickly to the front, the spar is thrown forward into 
the air, from off the foot, with great force. And he who 
" overends the tree" the greatest number of times in the 
air, before it reaches the ground, is considered the most ex- 
pert, and the strongest man. A great many of these Gip- 
sies had a saucy military gesture in their walk, and gener- 
ally carried in their hands short, thick cudgels, about three 
feet in length. While they travelled, they generally unbut- 
toned the knees of their breeches, and rolled down the heads 
of their stockings, so as to leave the joints of their knees 
bare, and unincumbered by their clothes. 

During the periods they occupied the out-houses of the 
farms, the owners of which were kind to them, the Gipsies 
were very orderly in their deportment, and temperate in 
the use of spirituous liquors, being seldom seen intoxicated ; 
and were very courteous and polite to all the members of 
the family. Their behaviour was altogether very orderly, 
peaceable, quiet, and inoffensive. In gratitude for their 
free-quarters, they frequently made, from old metal, smooth- 
ing-irons for the mistress, and sole-clouts for the ploughs of 
10* 



226 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

the master, and spoons for the family, from the horns of 
rams, or other horns that happened to be about the house ; 
for all of which they would take nothing. They, however, 
did not attend the church, while encamped on the premises ; 
at the same time, they took especial care to give no moles- 
tation, or cause of offence, to any about the farm, on Sunday ; 
being, indeed, seldom seen on that day out-side of , the door 
of the house in which they were quartered, saving an indi- 
vidual to look after their horses or asses, while grazing in 
the neighbouring fields. Their religious sentiments were 
confined entirely within their own breasts ; and it was im- 
possible to know what were their real opinions on the score 
of religion. However, within the last ten years, I enquired, 
very particularly, of an intelligent Gipsy, what religion his 
forefathers professed, and his answer was, that " the Gipsies 
had no religious sentiments at all ; that they worshipped no 
sort of thing whatever." 

Many practised music ; and the violin and bag-pipes 
were the instruments they commonly used. This musical 
talent of the Gipsies delighted the country -people ; it oper- 
ated like a charm upon their feelings, and contributed much 
to procure the wanderers a night's quarters. Many of the 
families of the farmers looked forward to the expected visits 
of the merry Gipsies with pleasure, and regretted their de- 
parture. Some of the old women sold salves and drugs, 
while some of the males had pretensions to a little surgery. 
One of them, of the name of Campbell, well known by the 
title of Dr. Duds, traversed the south of Scotland, accom- 
panied by a number of women. He prescribed, and sold me- 
dicines to the inhabitants ; and several odd stories are told 
of the very unusual, but successful, cures performed by 
him. 

As in arranging for, and taking up, their quarters, the 
principal female Gipsy almost always negotiates the transac- 
tions which the horde have with the farmer's family, during 
their abode on his premises. Indeed, the females are the most 
active, if not the principal, members of the tribe, in vending 
their articles of merchandise. The time at which, on such 
occasions, they present these for sale, is the day after their 
arrival on the farm, and immediately after tlie breakfast of 
the farmer's family is over. When tliere are more families 
tlian one in the band, but all of one horde, the chief female 



TWEED-DALE AND CLYDESDALE GIPSIES. 227 

of the whole gets the first chance of selling her wares ; but 
every head female of the respective families bargains tor 
her own merchandise, for the behoof of her own family. 
When tlie farmer's family is in want of any of their articles, 
an extraordinary higgling and chaffering takes place in 
making the bargain. Besides money, the Gipsy woman in- 
sists upon having what she calls her " boontith" — that is, a 
present in victuals, as she is fond of bartering her articles 
for provisions. If the mistress of the house agrees, and goes 
to her larder or milk-house for the purpose of giving her 
this boontith, the Gripsy is sure to follow close at her heels. 
Admitted into the larder, the voracious Tinkler will have 
part of everything she sees — flesh, meal, butter, cheese, &c., 
&c. Her fiery and penetrating eye darts, with rapidity, from 
one object to another. She makes use of every argument 
she can think of to induce the farmer's wife to comply 
with her unreasonable demands. " I'm wi' bairn, mistress," 
she will say ; " I'm greenin' ; God bless ye, gie me a wee bit 
flesh to taste my mouth, if it should no' he the book o' a 
robin-red-breast."* If the farmer's wife still disregards her 
importunities, the Gipsy will, in the end, snatch up a piece 
of flesh, and put it into her lap. in a twinkling ; for out of 
the larder she will not go, without something or other. The 
farmer's wife, ever on the alert, now takes hold of the sorner, 
to wrest the flesh from her clutches, when a serious personal 
struggle ensues. She will frequently be under the necessity 
of calling for the assistance of her servants, to thrust the 
intruder out of the apartment ; but the cautious Gipsy takes 
care not to let matters go too far : she yields the contest, 
and, laughing heartily at the good-wife losing her temper, 
immediately assumes her ordinary polite manner. And not- 
withstanding all that has taken place, both parties generally 
part on good terms. 

On one of these bargain-making occasions, as the wife of the 
farmer of Glencotha, in Tweed-dale, went to give a boontith 
to Mary Yorkston, tlie harpy thrust, unobserved, about four 

* After recovery from child-birth, the Gipsy woman recommences her 
course of begging or stealing, with her child in her arms; and tlien she is 
more rapacious than at other times, taking whatever she can lay her hands 
upon. For she calculates upon escaping without a beating, by holding up 
her child to receive the blows aimed at her ; which slie knows will have 
the effect of making the aggrieved person desist, till s)ie finds an opportun 
ity of getting out of the way. — GreUmc^nn on the iluufjarian (Jifjms, — ^p. 



228 A EISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

pounds weight of tallow into her lap. On the return of the 
good- wife, the tallow was missed. She charged Mary with 
the tlieft, but Mary, with much gravity of countenance, ex- 
claimed : " God bless ye, mistress, I wad steal from mony a 
one before I wad steal from you." The good-wife, however, 
took hold of Mary, to search her person. A struggle 
ensued, when the tallow fell out of Mary's lap, on the kitch- 
en-floor. At this exposure, in the very act of stealing, the 
Gipsy burst into a fit of laughter, exclaiming : " The Lord 
hae a care o' me, mistress ; ye hae surely little to spare, 
whan ye winna let a body take a bit tauch for a candle, to 
light her to bed." At another time, this Gipsy gravely 
told the good-wife of Rachan-mill, that she must give her a 
pound of butter for her boontith, that time, as it would be 
the last she would ever give her. Astonished at the extra- 
ordinary saying, the good-wife demanded, with impatience, 
what she meant. " You will," rejoined the Gipsy, " be in 
eternity (by a certain day, which she named,) and I will 
never see you again ; and this will be the last boontith you 
will ever give me." The good-wife of Rachan-mill, however, 
survived the terrible prediction for several years.* 

The female Gipsies also derived considerable profits from 
their trade of fortune-telling. The art of telling fortunes 
was not, however, general among the Gipsies ; it was only 
certain old females who pretended to be inspired with the 

* The following facts will show what a Scottish Tinkler, at the present 
day, will sometimes do in the way of " sorning," or masterful begging. 

One of the race paid a visit to the house of a country ale-wife, and, in a 
crowded shop, vaulted the counter, and applied his bottle to her whiskey- 
tap. Immediately a cry, with up-lifted hands, was raised for the police, but 
the prudent ale-wife treated the circumstance with indifference, and ex- 
claimed : " Hout, tout, tout ! let the deil tak' a wee drappie." 

On another occasion, a Gipsy woman entered a country public-house, 
leaving her partner at a short distance from the door. Espying a drawn 
bottle of porter, standing on a table, in a room in which were two females 
sitting, she, without the least ceremony, filled a glass, and drank it off; 
but before she could decant another, the other Gipsj-, feeling sure of the 
luck of his mate, from her being admitted into the premises, immediately 
proceeded to share it with her. But he had hardly drank off the remainder 
of the porter, ere a son of the mistress of the house made his appearance, 
and demanded what was wanted. " Want — luaut {" replied the Gipsy, with 
a leering eye towards the empty bottle ; " we want nothing — we've got aU 
that we want !" On being ordered to '• walk out of that," they left, with a 
smile of satisfaction playing on their weather-beaten countenances. 

Such displays of Gipsy impudence sometimes call forth only a hearty 
laugh from the people affected by them. — Ed. 



TWEED DALE AND CLYDESDALE GIPSIES. 229 

gift of prophecy. The method which they adopted to get 
at the information wliich often enabled them to tell, if not 
fortunes, at least the history, and condition of mind, of indi- 
viduals, with great accuracy, was somewhat this : 

The inferior Gipsies generally attended our large country 
" penny-weddings," in former times, both as musicians and 
for the purpose of receiving the fragments of the entertain- 
ments. At the wedding in the parish of Corstorphine, to 
which I have alluded, under the chapter of Fife and Stir- 
lingshire Gipsies, Charles Stewart entered into familiar con- 
versation with individuals present ; joking with them about 
their sweet-hearts, and love-matters generally ; telling them 
he had noticed such a one at such a place ; and observing 
to another that he had seen him at such a fair, and so on. 
He always enquired about their masters, and places of abode, 
with other particulars relative to their various connections 
and circumstances in life. Here, the Gipsy character dis- 
plays itself ; here, we see Stewart, while he seems a mere 
merry-andrew, to the heedless, merry-making people at these 
weddings, actually reading, with deep sagacity, tlieir char- 
acters and dispositions ; and ascertaining the places of 
residence, and connexions, of many of the individuals of the 
country through which he travelled. In this manner, by 
continually roaming up and down the kingdom, now as in- 
dividuals in disguise, at other times in bands — not passing 
a house in their route — observing everything taking place 
in mixed assemblies, at large weddings, and general gather- 
ings of the people at fairs — scanning, with the eye of a 
hawk, both males and females, for the purpose of robbing 
them — did the Gipsies, with their great knowledge of liu- 
man character, become thoroughly acquainted with par- 
ticular incidents concerning many individuals of the popula- 
tion. Hence proceed, in a great measure, the warlockry and 
fortune-telling abilities of the shrewd and sagacious Gipsies. 

Or, suppose an old Gipsy female, who traverses the king- 
dom, has a relative a lady's maid in a family of rank, and 
another a musician in a band, playing to the first classes of 
society, in public or private assemblies, the travelling spae- 
wife would not be without materials for carrying on her 
trade of fortune-telling. The observant handmaid, and the 
acute, penetrating fiddler would, of course, communicate to 
their wandering relative every incident and circumstance 



230 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

that came under their notice, which would, at an after and 
suitable period, enable the cunning fortune-teller to astonish 
some of the parties who had been at these meetings, when in 
another part of the country, remote in time, and distant in 
place, from the spot where the occurrences happened. 

In order that they might not lessen the importance and 
value of their art, these Gipsies pretended they could tell 
no one's fortune for anything less than silver, or articles 
of wearing-apparel, or other things of value. Besides telling 
fortunes by palmistry,^ they foretold destinies by divination 
of the cup, their method of doing which appears to be nearly 
the same as that practised among the ancient Assyrians, 
Chaldeans, and Egyptians, perhaps, about the time of Joseph. 
The Gipsy method was, and I may say is, this : The divin- 
ing cup, which is made of tin, or pewter, and about three 
inches in diameter, was filled with water, and sometimes 
with spirits. Into the cup a certain quantity of a melted 
substance, resembling tin, was dropped from a crucible, 
which immediately formed itself, in the liquid, into curious 
figures, resembling frost work, seen on windows in winter. 
The compound was then emptied into a trencher, and from 
the arrangements or constructions of the figures, the destiny 
of the enquiring individual was predicted.! While per- 

• The Kamtschadales, says Dr. Grieve, in his translation of a Russian 
account of Kamtschatka, pretend to chiromancy, and tell a man's good or 
bad fortune by the lines of his hand ; but the rules which they follow are 
kept a great secret. Page 206, 

f Julius Sereuus, says Stackhouse, tells us, that the method among the 
Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Egyptians was to fill the cup with water, then 
throw into it thin plates of gold and silver, together with some precious 
Btones, whereon were engraven certain characters, and, after that, the per- 
son who came to consult the oracle used certain forms of incantation, and, 
so calling upon the devil, were wont to receive their answer several ways: 
sometimes by particular sounds ; sometimes by the characters which were 
in the cup rising upon the surface of the water, and by their arrangement 
forming the answer; and many times by the visible appearance of the per- 
sons themselves, about whom the oracle was consulted. Cornelius Agrippa 
(De Occult. Philos. LI, c. 57,) tells us, likewise, that the manner of some was 
to pour melted wax into the cup wherein was water ; which wax would 
range itself in order, and so form answers, according to the questions pro- 
posed. — Saurin^s Dis.'iertatioii, 38, and Hudegger's His. patriar. exercit. 20. 

Fortune-telling is punishable by the 9th Geo. II, chap. 5th. In June, 
1805, a woman, of the name of Maxwell, commonly called the Galloway 
sorceress, was tried for this offence, by a jury, before the Stewart of Kirk- 
cudbright, and was sentenced to imprisonment and the pillory. — Burnet on 
Criminal Law, page 173. 



TWEED-DALE AND CLYDESDALE GIPSIES. 231 

forming the ceremony, the Gipsies muttered, in their own 
language, certain incantations, totally unintelligible to the 
spectator. The following fact, however, will, more particu- 
larly, show the manner in which these Gipsy sorceresses im- 
posed on the credulous. 

A relative of mine had several servant-girls who would, 
one day, have their fortunes told. The old Gipsy took them, 
one at a time, into an apartment of the house, and locked the 
door after her. My relative, feeling a curiosity in the mat- 
ter, observed their operations, and overheard their conver- 
sation, through a chink in the partition of the room. A 
bottle of whiskey, and a wine glass, were produced by the 
girl, and the sorceress filled the glass, nearly full, with the 
spirits. Into the liquor she dropped part of the white of a 
raw egg, and taking out of her pocket something like chalk, 
scraped part of it into the mixture. Certain figures now 
appeared in the glass, and, muttering some jargon, unintelli- 
gible to the girl, she held it up between her eyes and the 
window. " Tliere is your sweetheart now — look at him — 
do you not see him ?" exclaimed the Gipsy to the trembling 
girl ; and, after telling her a number of events which were 
to befall her, in her journey through life, she held out the 
glass, and told her to " cast that in her mouth" — " Me drink 
that ? The Lord forbid that I should drink a drap o't." 
*' E^ens ye like, my woman ; I can tak' it mysel," quoth the 
Gipsy, and, suiting the action to the word, " cast" the whis- 
key, eggs and chalk* down her throat, in an instant. Know- 
ing well that the idea of swallowing the glass in which 
their future husbands were seen, and their own fortunes 
told, in so mysterious a manner, would make the girls shud- 
der, the cunning Gipsy gave each of them, in succession, the 
order to drink, and, the moment they refused, threw the con- 
tents of the " divining cup" into her own mouth. In this 
manner did the Gipsy procure, at one time, no less than 
four glasses of ardent spirits, and sixpence from each of the 
credulous girls. 

The country-girls, however, never could stand out the 
operations of telling fortunes by the method of turning a 
corn-riddle, with scissors attached, in a solitary out-house. 

* It 19 not unlikely that the " sonaething like chalk," here mentioned, was 
nothing but a nutmeg, with which, and the eggs and whiskey, the Gipsy 
would make, what is called, " egg-nogg." — Ed. 



232 A HISTOIiT OF THE GIPSIES. 

Whenever the Gipsy commenced her work, and, with lier 
mysterious mutterings, called out : " Turn riddle — turn — 
shears and all/' the terrified girls fled to the house, impres- 
sed with the belief that the devil himself would appear to 
them, on the spot. 

The Gipsies in Tweed-dale were never in want of the best 
of provisions, having always an abundance of fish, flesh, and 
fowl. At the stages at which they halted, in their progress 
through the country, it was observed that the principal fami- 
lies, at one time, ate as good victuals, and drank as good 
liquors, as any of the inhabitants of the country. A lady of 
respectability informed me of her having seen, in her youth, a 
band dine on the green-sward, near Douglass-mill, in Lanark- 
shire, when, as I have already mentioned, the Gipsies handed 
about their wine, after dinner, as if they had been as good 
a family as any in the land. Those in Fifeshire, as we have 
already seen, were in the habit of purchasing and killing fat 
cattle, for their winter's provisions. In a communication to 
Blackwood's Magazine, to which I will again allude, the 
illustrious author of " Waverley" mentions that his grand- 
father was, in some respects, forced to accept a dinner from 
a party of Gipsies, carousing on a moor, on the Scottish Bor- 
der. The feast consisted of " all the varieties of game, 
poultry, pigs, and so forth. '^ And, according to the same 
communication, it would appear that they were in the prac- 
tice of stewing game and all kinds of poultry into soup, 
which is considered very rich and savoury, and is now 
termed " Pottage a la Meg Merrilies de Derncleugh ;" a 
name derived from the singular character in the celebrated 
novel of Guy Manuering. 

But the ancient method of cooking practised among the 
Scottish Gipsies, and which, in all probability, they brought 
with them, when they arrived in Europe, upwards of four 
hundred years ago, is, if I am not mistaken, new to the world, 
never having as yet, that I am aware of, been described."* 
It is very curious, and extremely primitive, and appears to 
be of the highest antiquity. It is admirably adapted to the 
wants of a rude and barbarous people, travelling over a wild 
and thinly-inhabited country, in which cooking utensils could 
not be procured, or conveniently carried with them. 

* I published the greater part of the Gipsy method of cooking, in the 
Fife Herald, of the 18th April, 1833. 



TWEED-DALE AND CLYDESDALE GIPSIES. 233 

My facts are from the Gipsies themselves, and are corrobo- 
rated by people, not of the tribe, who have witnessed some 
of their cooking operations. 

The Gipsies, on such occasions, make use of neither pot, 
pan, spit, nor oven, in cooking fowls. They twist a 
strong rope of straw, which they wind very tightly around 
the fowl, just as it is killed, with the whole of its feathers 
on, and its entrails untouched. It is then covered with 
hot peat ashes, and a slow fire is kept up around and about 
the ashes, till the fowl is sufficiently done. When taken out 
from beneath the fire, it is stripped of its hull, or shell, of 
half-burned straw-rope and feathers, and presents a very 
fine appearance. Those who have tasted poultry, cooked by 
the Gipsies, in this manner, say that it is very palatable 
and good. In this invisible way, these ingenious people 
could cook stolen poultry, at the very moment, and in the 
very place, that a search was going on for the pilfered 
article. 

u/The art of cooking butcher-meat among the Gipsies is 
similar to that of making ready fowls, except that linen 
and clay are substituted for feathers and straw. The piece 
of flesh to be cooked is first carefully wrapped up in a cov- 
ering of cloth or linen rags, and covered over with well 
wrought clay, and either frequently turned before a strong 
fire, or covered over with hot ashes, till it is roasted, or 
rather stewed. The covering or crust, of the shape of the 
article enclosed, and hard with the fire, is broken, and the 
meat separated from its inner covering of burned rags, 
which, with the juice of the meat, are reduced to a thick 
sauce or gravy. Sometimes a little vinegar is poured upon 
the meat. The tribe are high in their praise of flesh cooked 
in this manner, declaring that it has a particularly fine 
flavour. These singular people, I am informed, also boiled 
the flesh of sheep in the skins of the animals, like the 
Scottish soldiers in their wars with the English nation, 
when their camp-kettles were nothing but the hides of the 
oxen, suspended from poles, driven into the ground. 

The only mode of cooking butcher-meat, bearing any 
resemblance to that of the Gipsies, is practised by some of 
the tribes of Soutli America, who wrap flesh in leaves, and, 
covering it over with clay, cook it like the Gipsies. Some 
of the Indians of North America roast deer of a small size 



234 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

in their skins, among hot ashes. An individual of great 
respectability, who had tasted venison cooked in this fashion, 
said that it was extremely juicy, and finely flavoured. In 
the Sandwich Islands, pigs are baked on hot stones in pits, 
or in the leaves of the bread-fruit tree, on hot stones, covered 
over with earth, during the operation of cooking. It is pro- 
bable that the Gipsy art of cooking would be amongst the 
first modes of making ready animal food, in the first stage 
of human society, in Asia — the cradle of the human race.* 
Substitute linen rags for the leaves of trees, and what me- 
thod of cooking can be more primitive than that of our 
Scottish Gipsies ? 

The Gipsy method of smelting iron, for sole-clout for 
ploughs, and smoothing-irons, is also simple, rude, and pri- 
mitive.t The tribe erect, on the open field, a. small circle, 
built of stone, turf, and clay, for a furnace, of about three feet 
in height, and eighteen inches in diameter, and plastered, 
closely round on the outside, up to the top, with mortar made 
of clay. The circle is deepened by part of the earth being 
scooped out from the inside. It is then filled with coal or 
charred peat ; and the iron to be smelted is placed in small 
pieces upon the top. Below the fuel an aperture is left 
open, on one side, for admitting a large iron ladle, lined 
inside with clay. The materials in the furnace are power- 
fully heated, by the blasts of a large hand-bellows, (gene- 
rally wrought by females,) admitted at a small hole, a little 
from the ground. When the metal comes to a state of 

* Ponqueville considers the Gipsies contemporary of the first societies, 
Paris, 1830. 

f According to Grellmann, working in iron is the most usual occupa- 
tion of the Gipsies. In Hungary it is so common, as to have given rise 
to the proverb, " So manj'^ Gipsies, so many smiths." The same may be 
said of those in Transylvania, Wallachia, and Moldavia, and all Turkey in 
Europe ; at least, Gipsies following that occupation are very numerous in 
those countries. 

This occupation seems to have been a favourite one with them, from the 
most distant period. Uladislaus, King of Hungary, in the year 1496, or- 
dered : " That every officer and subject, of whatever rank or condition, do 
allow Thomas Polgar, leader of twenty-five tents of wandering Gipsies, free 
residence everywhere, and on no account to molest either him or his 
people, because they prepared musket balls and other military stores, for 
tlie Bishop Sigismund, at Fiinf-kirchen." In the year 1565, when Mus- 
tapa, Turkish Regent of Bosnia, besieged Crupa, the Turks having ex- 
pended their powder and cannon-balls, the Gipsies were employed to make 
the latter, part of iron, the rest of stone, cased with lead. 



TWEED-DALE AND CLYDESDALE GIPSIES. 235 

fusion, it finds its way down to the ladle, and, after being 
skimmed of its cinders, is poured into the different sand 
moulds ready to receive it. 

Observe the Gipsies at whatever employment you may, there always 
appear sparks of genius. We cannot, indeed, help wondering, when we 
consider the skill they display in preparing and bringing their work to 
perfection, from the scarcity of proper tools and materi^s. — Orellmann on 
the Hungarian Gipsies. — Ed. 



CHAPTER YIL 

BORDER GIPSIES. 

It would be an unpardonable omission were I to overlook 
the descendants of John Faw, " Lord and Earl of Little 
Egypt/' in this history of the Gipsies in Scotland. But to 
enter into details relative to many of the members of this 
ancient clan, would be merely a repetition of actions, simi- 
lar in character to those already related of some of the other 
bands in Scotland. 

It would appear that the district in which the Faw tribe 
commonly travelled, comprehended East Lothian, Berwick- 
shire and Roxburghshire ; and that Northumberland was also 
part of their walk. I can find no traces of Gipsies, of that 
surname, having, in families, traversed the midland or west- 
ern parts of the south of Scotland, for nearly the last seventy 
years ; and almost all the few ancient public documents 
relative to this clan seem to imply that they occupied the 
counties above mentioned. 

I am inclined to believe that the Faws and the Baillies, 
the two principal Gipsy clans in Scotland, had frequently 
lived in a state of hostility with one another. These two 
tribes quarrelled in the reign of James Y, when they 
brought their dispute before the king in council ; and from 
the renewal of the order in council, in the reign of Queen 
Mary, it appears their animosities had then existed. In the 
year 1677, the Faws and the Shaws, as already noticed, 
advanced into Tweed-dale, to fight the Baillies and the 
Browns, as mentioned by Dr. Pennecuik, in his history of 
Tweed-dale. At the present day, the Baillies consider 
themselves quite superior in rank to the Faas ; and, on the 
other hand, the Faas and their friends speak with great 
bitterness and contempt of the Baillies, calling them "a 
parcel of thieves and vagabonds."* 

* This long standing feud between the Baillies and the Faas is notorious. 
(236) 



BORDER GIPSIES. 237 

In Ruddiman's Weekly Magazine, of the 4tli August, 17Y4, 
the following notice is taken of this tribe, which shows the 
fear which persons of respectability entertained for them : 
" The descendants of this Lord of Little Egypt continued to 
travel about in Scotland till the beginning of this century, 
mostly about the southern Border ; and I am most credibly 
informed that one, Henry Faa, was received, and ate at the 
tables of people in public office, and that men of considerable 
fortune paid him a gratuity, called blackmail, in order to 
have their goods protected from thieves." 

One of the Faas rose to great eminence in the mercantile 
world, and was connected by marriage with Scotch families 
of the rank of baronets. This family was the highly respect- 
able one 'of Fall, now extinct, general merchants in Dunbar, 
who were originally members of the Gipsy family at 
Yetholm. So far back as about the year 1670, one of the 
baillies of Dunbar was of the surname of Faa, spelled exactly 
as the Gipsy name, as appears by the Rev. J. Blackadder's 
Memoirs. On the 18th of May, 1734, Captain James Fall, 
of Dunbar, was elected member of parliament for the Dunbar 
district of burghs. On the 28th of May, 1741, Captain Fall 
was again elected member for the same burghs ; but, there 
being a double return, Sir Hew Dalrymple ousted him. The 
family of Fall gave Dunbar provosts and baillies, and ruled 
the political interests of that burgh for many years. When 
hearty over their cups, they often mentioned their origin ; 
and, to perpetuate the memory of their descent from the 
family of Faa, at Yetholm, the late Mrs. Fall, of Dunbar, 
whose husband was provost of the town, had the whole 
family, with their asses, &c., &c., as they took their departure 
from Yetholm, represented, by herself, in needle-work, or 
tapestry.* The particulars, or details, of this family group 

On paying a visit to a family of English Gipsies in the United States, the 
head of the family said to me: "You must really excuse us to-day. It's 
the Faas and Baillies over again ; it will be all I can do to keep them from 
coming to blows." The noise inside of the house was frightful. There had 
been a " difficulty" between two families in consequence of some gossip about 
one of the parties before marriage, which the families were sifting to the 
bottom. 

The Faas and their partisans, on reading this work, will not overwell 
relish the prominence given to the Baillie clan. — Ed. 

* " He will be pleased to learn that there is, in the house of Provost Why te, 
of Kirkaldy, a piece of needle-work, or tapestry, on which is depicted, by 
tlie hands of Mrs. Fall, the principal events in the life of the founder of her 



238 A HISTORY OF TEE GIPSIES. 

were derived from her husband, who had the facts from his 
grandfather, one of the individuals represented in the piece. 
A respectable aged gentleman, yet living in Dunbar, has 
often seen this family piece of the Falls, and liad its details 
pointed out and explained to him by Mrs. Fall herself.* 

The mercantile house of the Falls, at Dunbar, was so ex- 
tensive as to have many connexions in the ports of the Baltic 
and Mediterranean, and supported so high a character that 
several of the best families in Scotland sent their sons to it, 
to be initiated in the mysteries of commerce. Amongst 
others who were bred merchants by the Falls, were Sir 
Francis Kinloch, and two sons of Sir John Anstruther. It 
appears that the Falls were most honourable men in all their 
transactions ; and that the cause of the ruin of their eminent 
firm was the failure of some considerable mercantile houses 
who were deeply indebted to them. 

One of the Misses Fall was married to Sir John Ans- 
truther, of Elie, baronet. It appears that this alliance with 
the family of Fall was not relished by the friends of Sir 
John, of his own class in society. The consequence was 
that Lady Anstruther was not so much respected, and did 
not receive those attentions from her neighbours, to which 

family, from the day the Gipsy child came to Dunbar in its mother's creel, 
until the same Gipsy child had become, by its own honourable exertions, the 
head of the first mercantile establishment then existing in Scotland." [This 
seems to be an extract from a letter. The authority has been omitted in 
the MS— Ed.] 

* " There are," says a correspondent, " several gentlemen in this town and 
neighbourhood who have heard declare, that the Falls themselves had often 
acknowledged to them their descent from the Gipsy Faas. I am told by 
an old Berwickshire gentleman, who had the account from his mother, that 
the Falls, on their departure from Yetholm, stopped some little time at a 
country village-hamlet called Hume, in Berwickshire, where they had some 
female relations ; and after a few days spent there, they set out for Dunbar, 
taking their female friends along with them. 

" Latterly, the late Robert and Charles Fall, who were cousins, kept sep- 
arate establishments. Robert possessed the dwelling-house now occupied 
by Lord Lauderdale; and Charles possessed one at the shore, (now the 
custom-house.) built on the spot where some old houses formerly stood, and 
was called ' Lousy Law.' It was in these old cot-houses that the Falls 
first took up their residence on coming to Dunbar. It appears the mother 
of the first of the Falls who came to Dunbar was a woman of much spirit 
and great activity. Old William Faa, the chief of the Gipsies at Yetholm, 
when in Lothian, never failed to visit the Dunbar family, as his relations. 
The Dunbar Falls were connected, by marriage, with the Anstruthers, 
Footies, of Balgonie, Coutts, now bankers, and with Collector Whyte, of the 
customs, at Kirkaldy, and Collector Melville, of the customs, at Dunbar." 



BORDER GIPSIES. 239 

her rank, as Sir John^s wife, gave her a title. The tradition 
of her Gipsy descent was fresh in the memories of those in 
the vicinity of her residence ; and she frequently got no 
other name, or title, when spoken of, than " Jenny Faa." 
She was, however, a woman of great spirit and activity. 
Her likeness was taken, and, I believe, is still preserved by 
the family of Anstruther.* 

At a contested election, for a member of parliament, for 
the burghs in the east of Fife, in which Sir John was a can- 
didate, his opponents thought to annoy him, and his active 
lady, by reference to the Gipsy origin of the latter. When- 
ever Lady Anstruther entered the burghs, during the canvass, 
the streets resounded with the old song of the " Gipsy 
Laddie." A female stepped up to her ladyship, and expressed 
her sorrow at the rabble singing the song in her presence. 
" Oh, never mind them," replied Lady Anstruther ; " they are 
only repeating what they hear from their parents."t The 
following is the song alluded to : 



JOHNNY FAA, THE GH'SY LADDIE. 

The Gipsies came to my Lord Cassilis' yett, 
And oh ! but they sang bonnie ; 

They sang sae sweet, and sae complete, 
That down came our fair ladie. 



She came tripping down the stair, 
And all her maids before her ; 

As soon as they saw her weel-far'd face 
They coost their glamourie owre her. 



* Speaking of a gentleman in his autobiography, Dr. Alexander Cariyle, 
in 1744, says: " He had the celebrated Jenny Fall, (afterwards Lady Ans- 
truther,) a coquette and a beauty, for months together in the house with 
him ; and as his person and manners drew the marked attention of the 
ladies, he derived considerable improvement from the constant intercourso 
with this young lady and her companions, for she was lively and clever, 
no less than beautiful." — Eu. 

f I beg the reader to take particular notice of this circumstance, A 
Scotch rabble is the lowest and meanest of all rabbles, at such work as 
this. In their eyes, it was unpardonable that Lady Anstruther, or " Jenny 
Faa," should have been of Gipsy origin ; but it would have horrified them, 
had they known the meaning of her ladyship " being of Gipsy origin," and 
that she doubtless " chattered Gipsy," like others of her tribe. — Ed. 



840 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

She gave to them the good wheat bread. 

And they gave her the ginger ; 
But she gave them a far better thing, 

The gold ring oflf her finger. » 

" Will ye go wi' me, my hinny and my heart, 
Will ye go wi' me, my dearie ; 
And I will swear, by the staff of my spear, 
That thy lord shall nae mair come near thee." 

" Gar take from me my silk manteel, 

And bring to me a plaidie ; 

For I will travel the world owre, 

Along with the Gipsy laddie. 

" I could sail the seas with my Jockie Faa, 
I could sail the seas with my dearie ; 
I could sail the seas with my Jockie Faa, 
And with pleasure could drown with my dearie." 

They wandered high, they wandered low, 

They wandered late and early, 
Until they came to an old tenant's barn. 

And by this time she was weary, 

" Last night I lay in a weel-made bed. 
And my noble lord beside me ; 
And now I must lie in an old tenant's bam, 
And the black crew glowring owre me." 

" hold your tongue, my hinny and my heart, 
O hold your tongue, my dearie ; 
For I will swear by the moon and the stars 
That thy lord shall nae mair come near thee." 

They wandered high, they wandered low, 

'Riey wandered late and early, 
Until they came to that wan water, 

And by this time she was weary. 

** Aften I have rode that wan water, 
And my Lord Cassilis beside me ; 
And now I must set in my white feet, and wade, 
And carry the Gipsy laddie." 

By-and-by came home this noble lord. 

And asking for his ladie ; 
The one did cry, the other did reply, 
" She is gone with the Gipsy laddie." 



BORDER GIPSIES. 241 

" Go, saddle me the black," he says, 
" The brown rides never so speedie; 
And I will neither eat nor drink 
Till I bring home my ladie." 

He wandered high, he wandered low, 

He wandered late and early, 
Until he came to that wan water, 

And there he spied his ladie. 

" O wilt thou go home, my hinny and my heart, 

wilt thou go home, my dearie ; 
And I will close thee in a close room 

Where no man shall come near thee." 

" I will not go home, my hinny and heart, 

1 will not come, my dearie ; 

If I have brewn good beer, I will drink of the same, 
And my lord shall nae mair come near me. 

" But I will swear by the moon and the stars, 
And the sun that shines sae clearly, 
That I am as free of the Gipsy gang 
As the hour my mother did bear me." 

They were fifteen valiant men, 

Black, but very bonny, 
And they all lost their lives for one. 

The Earl of Cassilis' ladie. 

Tradition states that John Faa, the leader of a band of 
Gipsies, seizing the opportunity of the Earl of Cassilis' ab- 
sence, on a deputation to the Assembly of divines at West- 
minster, in 1643, to ratify the solemn league and covenant, 
carried off the lady. The Earl was considered a sullen and 
ill-tempered man, and perhaps not a very agreeable compan- 
ion to his lady.* 

Before proceeding to give an account of the modern Gip- 
sies on the Scottish Border, 1 shall transcribe an interesting 
note which Sir Walter Scott gave to the public, in explain- 
ing the origin of that singular character Meg Merrilies, in 
the novel Guy Mannering. The illustrious author kindly 
offered me the "scraps" which he had already given to 
Blackwood's Magazine, to incorporate them, if I chose, in 
my history of the Gipsies ; but I prefer giving them in his 
own words. 

^* My father," says Sir Walter, " remembered Jean Gor- 

• See page 108.— Ed. 
11 



242 A HIS TOUT OF THE GIPSIES. 

don of Yetliolm, who had a great sway among her tribe. 
She was quite a Meg Merrilies, and possessed the savage 
virtue of fidelity in the same perfection. Having been lios- 
pitably received at the farm-house of Loch side, near Yeth- 
olm, she had carefully abstained from committing any depre- 
dations on the farmer^s property. But her sons, (nine in 
number,) had not, it seems, the same delicacy, and stole a 
brood-sow from their kind entertainer. Jean was so much 
mortified at this ungrateful conduct, and so much ashamed 
of it, that she absented herself from Lochside for several 
years. At length, in consequence of some temporary pecu- 
niary necessity, the good-man of Lochside was obliged to go 
to Newcastle, to get some money to pay his rent. Return- 
ing through the mountains of Cheviot, he was benighted, 
and lost his way. A light, glimmering through the window 
of a large waste-barn, which had survived the farm-house to 
which it had once belonged, guided him to a place of shel- 
ter ; and when he knocked at the door, it was opened by 
Jean Gordon. Her very remarkable figure, for she was 
nearly six feet high, and her equally remarkable features 
and dress, rendered it impossible to mistake her for a mo- 
ment ; and to meet with such a character, in so solitary at 
place, and probably at no great distance from her clan, was 
a terrible surprise to the poor man, whose rent, (to lose 
which would have been ruin to him,) was about his person. 
Jean set up a loud shout of joyful recognition. ' Eh, sirs I 
the winsome gude-man of Lochside ! Liglit down, light 
down ; for ye manna gang farther the night, and a friend's 
house sae near !' The farmer was obliged to dismount, and 
accept of the Gipsy's ofi'er of supper and a bed. There was 
plenty of meat in tlie barn, however it might be come by, 
and preparations were going on for a plentiful supper, which 
the farmer, to the great increase of his anxiety, observed 
was calculated for ten or twelve guests of the same descrip- 
tion, no doubt, with his landlady. Jean left him in no doubt 
on the subject. She brought up the story of the stolen sow, 
and noticed how much pain and vexation it had given her. 
Like other philosophers, she remarked that the world grows 
worse daily, and, like other parents, that the bairns got out 
of her guiding, and neglected the old Gipsy regulations 
which commanded them to respect, in their depredations, the 
property of their benefactors. The end of all this was an 



BORDER GIPSIES. 243 

enquiry what money the farmer had about him, and an ur- 
gent request that he would make her his purse-keeper, as 
the bairns, as she called her sons, would be soon home. The 
poor farmer made a virtue of necessity, told his story, and 
surrendered his gold to Jean's custody. She made him put 
a few shillings in his pocket ; observing it would excite sus- 
picion should he be found travelling altogether penniless. 
This arrangement being made, the farmer lay down on a 
sort of shake-down, as the Scotch call it, upon some straw ; 
but, as is easily to be believed, slept not. About midnight 
the gang returned with various articles of plunder, and 
talked over their exploits, in language which made the far- 
mer tremble. They were not long in discovering their 
guest, and demanded of Jean whom she had got there. 
* E'en the winsome gude-man of Lochside, poor boy,' replied 
Jean ; ' he's been at Newcastle, seeking siller to pay his rent, 
honest man, but deil-be-licket he's been able to gather in ; 
and sae he's gaun e'en hame wi' a toom purse and a sair 
heart.' * That may be, Jean,' replied one of the banditti, 
but we maun ripe his pouches a bit, and see if it be true or 
no.' Jean set up her throat in exclamation against this 
breach of hospitality, but without producing any change of 
their determination. The farmer soon heard their stifled 
whispers and light steps by his bed-side, and understood 
they were rummaging his clothes. When they found the 
money which the prudence of Jean Gordon had made him 
retain, they held a consultation if they should take it or not ; 
but the smallness of the booty, and the vehemence of Jean's 
remonstrances, determined them on the negative. They 
caroused, and went to rest. So soon as day dawned, Jean 
roused her guest, produced his horse, which she had accom- 
modated beliind the hallan, and guided him for some miles, 
till he was on the high-road to Lochside. She then restored 
his whole property, nor could his earnest entreaties prevail 
on her to accept so much as a single guinea. 

" I have heard the old people at Jedburgh say that all 
Jean's sons were condemned to die tliere on the same day. 
It is said the jury were equally divided, but that a friend of 
justice, who had slept during the whole discussion, waked 
suddenly, and gave his vote for condemnation, in the em- 
phatic words : ' Hang them a'.' Jean was present, and 
only said, ' The Lord help the innocent in a day like this.' 



244 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

Her own death was accompanied with circumstances of 
brutal outrage, of which poor Jean was, in many respects, 
wholly undeserving. Jean had, among other demerits, or 
merits, as you may choose to rank it, that of being a staunch 
Jacobite. She chanced to be at Carlisle, upon a fair or 
market day, soon after the year 1746, where she gave vent 
to her political partiality, to the great offence of the rabble 
in that city. Being zealous in their loyalty when there 
was no danger, in proportion to the tameness with which 
they had surrendered to the Highlanders, in 1745, they in- 
flicted upon poor Jean Gordon no slighter penalty than that 
of ducking her to death in the Eden. It was an operation 
of some time, for Jean was a stout woman, and, struggling 
with her murderers, often got her head above water ; and, 
while she had voice left, continued to exclaim, at such inter- 
vals, ' Charlie yet ! Charlie yet !' 

" When a child, and among the scenes which she fre- 
quented, I have often heard these stories, and cried piteously 
for poor Jean Gordon. 

" Before quitting the Border Gipsies, I may mention that 
my grandfather, riding over Charter-house moor, then a very 
extensive common, fell suddenly among a large band of 
them, who were carousing in a hollow of the moor, sur- 
rounded by bushes. They instantly seized on his horse's 
bridle, with many shouts of welcome, exclaiming, (for he 
was well known to most of tliem,) that they had often dined 
at his expense, and he must now stay, and share their good- 
cheer. My ancestor was a little alarmed, for, like the good 
man of Lochside, he had more money about his person than 
he cared to venture with into such society. However, be- 
ing a bold, lively man, he entered into the humour of the 
thing, and sate down to the feast, which consisted of all the 
different varieties of game, poultry, pigs, and so forth, that 
could be collected by a wide and indiscriminate system of 
plunder. The feast was a very merry one, but my relative 
got a hint, from some of the elder Gipsies, to retire just 
when ' The mirth and fun grew fast and furious ;' and, 
mounting his horse, accordingly, he took French leave 
of his entertainers, but without experiencing the least 
breach of hospitality. I believe Jean Gordon was at this 
festival. 

"The principal settlements of the Gipsies, in my time, 



BORDER GIPSIES. Ub 

have been the two villages of Easter and "Wester Gordon, 
and what is called Kirk-Yetholm, 

Making good the proverb odd, 
Near the church and far from God.** 

In giving an account of the modern Gipsies on the Scot- 
tish Border, I shall transcribe, at full length, the faithful 
and interesting report of Baillie Smith, of Kelso, which was 
published in Hoyland's " Historical Survey of the Gipsies." 

" A considerable time," says Mr. Smith, " having elapsed 
since I had an opportunity or occasion to attend to the 
situation of the colony ot Gipsies in our neighbourhood, I 
was obliged to delay my answer to your enquiries, until I 
could obtain more information respecting their present 
numbers. 

" The great bar to the benevolent intentions of improving 
their situation, will be the impossibility to convince them 
that there either is, or can be, a mode of life preferable, or 
even equal, to their own. 

" A strong spirit of independence, or what they would 
distinguish by the name of liberty, runs through the whole 
tribe. It is, no doubt, a very licentious liberty, but entirely 
to their taste. Some kind of honour peculiar to themselves 
seems to prevail in their community. They reckon it a dis- 
grace to steal near their homes, or even at a distance, if de- 
tected. I must always except tliat petty theft of feeding 
their shelties and asses, on the farmer's grass and corn, which 
they will do, whether at home or abroad. 

" When avowedly trusted, even in money matters, they 
never deceived me, nor forfeited their promise. I am sorry 
to say, however, that when checked in their licentious appro- 
priations, <fec., they are very much addicted both to threaten 
and to execute revenge. 

" Having so far premised with respect to their general 
conduct and character, I shall proceed to answer, as far as I 
am able, the four queries subjoined to the circular which 
you sent me ; and then subjoin, in notes, some instances of 
their conduct in particular cases, which may perhaps eluci- 
date their general disposition and character. 

" Qiierij 1st. What number of Gipsies in the county? 

"Answer. I know of none excc])t the colony of Yetholm, 
and one family who lately removed from that place to Kelso. 



246 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

Yctholm consists of two towns, or large villages, called 
Town-Yetholm and Kirk-Yetholm. The first is in the estate 
of Mr. Wauchope, of Niddry ; the latter in that of the 
Marquis of Tweed-dale. The number of the Gipsy colony 
at present in Kirk-Yetholm amounts to, at least, 109 men, 
women and children ; and perhaps two or three may have 
escaped notice. They marry early in life ; in general have 
many children ; and their number seems to be increasing. 

" Query 2d, In what do the men and women mostly employ 
themselves ? 

"Anstver. I have known the colony between forty and 
fifty years. At my first remembrance of them, they were 
called the Tinklers (Tinkers) of Yetholm, from the males 
being chiefly then employed in mending pots and other culin- 
ary utensils, especially in their peregrinations through the 
hilly and less frequented parts of the country. Sometimes 
they were called Homers, from their occupation in making 
and selling horn-spoons, called cutties. Now, their common 
appellation is that of Muggers, or, what pleases them better, 
Potters. They purchase, at a cheap rate, the cast or faulty 
articles from the different manufacturers of earthenware, which 
they carry for sale all over the country ; consisting of groups 
of six, ten, and sometimes twelve or fourteen persons, male 
and female, young and old, provided with a horse and cart, 
to transport the pottery, besides shelties and asses, to carry 
the youngest of the children, and such baggage as they find 
necessary. A few of the colony also employ themselves, 
occasionally, in making besoms, foot-basses, <fec., from heath, 
broom, and bent, and sell them at Kelso and the neighbour- 
ing towns. After all, their employment can be considered 
little better than an apology for idleness and vagrancy. I 
do not see that the women are otherwise employed than 
attending the young children, and assisting to sell the pot- 
tery when carried through the country. 

"They are, in general, great adepts in hunting, shoot- 
ing and fishing ; in which last they use the net and spear, 
as well as the rod ; and often supply themselves with 
a hearty meal by their dexterity. They have no notion of 
being limited in their field sports, either in time, place, or 
mode of destruction. In the country, they sleep in barns 
and byres, or other out-houses ; and when they cannot find 
that accommodation, they take the canvas covering from the 



BORDER GIPSIES. 247 

pottery cart and squat below it, like a covey of partridges 
in the snow. 

" Query Sd. Have they any settled abode in winter, and 
where ? 

" Answer, Their residence, with the exception of a single 
family, who, some years ago, came to Kelso, is at Kirk- 
Yetliolm, and chiefly confined to one row of houses, or 
street, of that town, which goes by the name of the Tinlder 
Roiv. Most of them have leases of their possessions, 
granted for a term of nineteen times nineteen years, for pay- 
ment of a small sum yearly, something of the nature of a 
quit-rent. There is no tradition in the neighbourhood con- 
cerning the time when the Gipsies first took up their resi- 
dence at that place, nor whence they came. Most of their 
leases, I believe, were granted by the family of tlie Bennets, 
of Grubit, the last of whom was Sir David Bennet, who died 
about sixty years ago. The late Mr. Nisbet, of Dirlton, 
then succeeded to the estate, comprehending the baronies 
of Kirk-Yetholm and Grubit. He died about the year 
1783 ; and long after, the property was acquired by the late 
Lord Tweed-dale's trustees. During the latter part of the 
life of the late Mr. Nisbet, he was less frequently at his 
estate in Roxburghshire than formerly. He was a great 
favourite of the Gipsies, and was in use to call them his 
body-guards, and often gave them money, <fec. 

" On the other hand, both the late and present Mr. Wauch- 
ope were of opinion that the example of these people had 
a bad efi*ect upon the morals and industry of the neighbour- 
hood ; and seeing no prospect of their removal, and as little 
of their reformation, considered it as a duty to the public 
to prevent the evil increasing ; and never would consent to 
any of the colony taking up their residence in Toivn-Yaiholm, 

" They mostly remain at home during winter, but as soon 
as the weather becomes tolerably mild, in spring, most of 
them, men, women and children, set out on their peregrina- 
tions over the country ; and live in a state of vagrancy, until 
driven into their habitations by the approacli of winter. 

" Seeming to pride themselves as a separate tribe, they 
very seldom intermarry out of the colony ; and, in rare in- 
stances, when that happens, the Gipsy, wlicthcr male or 
female, by influence and example, always induces tlie stranger 
husband, or wife, to adopt the manners of the colony ; so 



248 A mSTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

that no improvement is ever obtained in that way. The 
progeny of such alliances have almost universally the tawny 
complexion, and fine black eyes, of the Gipsy parent, whether 
father or mother. So strongly remarkable is the Gipsy cast 
of countenance, that even a description of them to a stranger, 
who has had no opportunity of formerly seeing them, will 
enable him to know them whenever he meets them. Some 
individuals, but very rarely, separate from the colony alto- 
gether ; and when they do so, early in life, and go to a dis- 
tance, such as London, or even Edinburgh, their acquaint- 
ances in the country get favourable accounts of them. A 
few betake themselves to regular and constant employments 
at home, but soon tire, and return to their old way of life. 

" When any of them, especially a leader, or man of influ- 
ence, dies, they have full meetings, not only of the colony, 
but of the Gipsies from a distance ; and those meetings, or 
late-waJces, are by no means conducted with sobriety or 
decency. 

" Query Mh. Are any of their children taught to read, and 
what portion of them ? With any anecdotes respecting 
their customs and conduct. 

" Answer. Education being obtained at a cheaper rate, 
the Gipsies, in general, give their male children as good a 
one as is bestowed on those of the labouring people, and 
farm servants, in the neighbourhood ; such as reading, writ- 
ing, and the first principles of arithmetic. They all apply 
to the clergyman of the parish for baptism to their children ; 
and a strong, superstitious notion universally prevails with 
them, that it is unlucky to have an unchristened child in the 
house. Only a very few ever attend divine service, and 
those as seldom as they can, just to prevent being refused as 
sponsors at their children's baptism. 

" They are, in general, active and lively, particularly when 
engaged in field sports, or in such temporary pursuits as are 
agreeable to their habits and dispositions ; but are destitute 
of the perseverance necessary for a settled occupation, or 
even for finishing what a moderate degree of continued 
labour would enable them to accomplish in a few weeks. 

" I remember that, about 45 years ago, being then appren- 
ticed to a writer, who was in use to receive the rents and 
the small duties of Kirk-Yetholm, he sent me there with a 
list of names, and a statement of what was due, recommend- 



BORDER GIPSIES. 249 

ing me to apply to the landlord of the public-house, in the 
village, for any information or assistance which I might 
need. 

" After waiting a long time, and receiving payment from 
most of the feuers, or rentalers, I observed to him, that none 
of the persons of the names of Faa, Young,Blythe, Fluckie, 
&c., who stood at the bottom of the list, for small sums, had 
come to meet me, according to the notice given by the baron- 
officer, and proposed sending to inform them that they were 
detaining me, and to request their immediate attendance. 

" The landlord, with a grave face, enquired whether my 
master had desired me to ask money from those men. I 
said, not particularly ; but they stood on the list. ' So I 
see,^ said the landlord ; ' but had your master been here him- 
self, he did not dare to ask money from them, either as rent 
or feu duty. He knows that it is as good as if it were in 
his pocket. They will pay when their own time comes, but 
do not like to pay at a set time, with the rest of the barony, 
and still less to be craved.' 

" I accordingly returned without their money, and reported 
progress. I found that the landlord was right : my master 
said, with a smile, that it was unnecessary to send to them, 
after the previous notice from the baron-officer ; it was 
enough if I had received the money, if offered. Their rent 
and feu duty was brought to the office in a few weeks. 
I need scarcely add that those persons all belonged to the 
tribe. 

" Another instance of their licentious, independent spirit 
occurs to rae. The family of Niddry always gave a decent 
annual remuneration to a baron-baillie, for the purpose of 
keeping good order within the barony of Town-Yetholra. 
The person whom I remember first in possession of that 
office was an old man, called Doctor Walker, from his being 
also the village surgeon ; and from him I had the following 
anecdote : 

" Between Yetholm and the Border farms, in Northum- 
berland, there were formerly, as in most Border situations, 
some uncultivated lands, called the Plea-lands, or Debata- 
ble-lands, the pasturage of which was generally eaten up 
by the sorners and vagabonds, on both sides of the marches. 
Many years ago, Lord Tankerville and some others of the 
English Borderers made their request to Sir David Benuct, 
11* 



250 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES, 

and the late Mr. Wauchope, of Niddry, that they would ac- 
company them at a riding of the Plea-lands, who readily 
complied with their request. They were induced to this, as 
they understood that the Gipsies had taken offence, on tho 
supposition that they might be circumscribed in the pastur- 
age for their shelties and asses, which they had held a long 
time, partly by stealth, and partly by violence. 

" Both threats and entreaties were employed to keep them 
away ; and, at last, Sir David obtained a promise from some 
of the heads of the gang, that none of them should show 
their faces on the occasion. They, however, got upon the 
hills, at a little distance, whence they could see everything 
that passed. At first they were very quiet. But when 
they saw the English court-book spread out, on a cushion, 
before the clerk, and apparently him taking in a line of 
direction, interfering with what they considered to be their 
privileged ground, it was with great difficulty that the most 
moderate of them could restrain the rest from running down 
and taking vengeance, even in sight of their own lord of the 
manor. 

" They only abstained for a short time ; and no sooner 
had Sir David and the other gentlemen taken leave of each 
other, in the most polite and friendly manner, as Border 
chiefs were wont to do, since Border feuds ceased, and had 
departed to a sufficient distance, than the clan, armed with 
bludgeons, pitchforks, and such other hostile weapons as 
they could find, rushed down in a body, and before the chiefs 
on either side had reached their home, there was neitlier 
English tenant, horse, cow nor sheep left upon the premises. 

" Meeting at Kelso, with Mr. Walter Scott, whose dis- 
criminating habits and just observations I had occasion t6 
know, from his youth, and, at the same time, seeing one of 
my Yetholm friends in the horse-market, I said to Mr. Scott, 

* Try to get before that man with the long drab coat, look 
at him on your return, and tell me whether you ever saw 
him, and what you think of him.' He was as good as to in- 
dulge me ; and, rejoining me, he said, without hesitation : 

* I never saw the man that I know of ; but he is one of the 
Gipsies of Yetholm, that you told me of, several years ago.' 
I need scarcely say that he was perfectly correct. 

" When first I knew anything about the colony, old Will 
Faa was king, or leader ; and had held the sovereignty 



BORDEH GIPSIES. 251 

for many years. The descendants of Faa now take the 
name of Fall, from the Messrs. Fall, of Dunbar, who, they 
pride themselves in saying, are of the same stock and line- 
age. When old Will Faa was upwards of eighty years of 
age, he called on me, at Kelso, on his way to Edinburgh, 
telling me tliat he was going to see the laird, the late Mr. 
Nisbet, of Dirlton, as he understood that he was very unwell ; 
and he himself being now old, and not so stout as he had 
been, he wished to see him once more before he died. He 
set out by the nearest road, which was by no means his com- 
mon practice. Next market-day, some of the farmers in- 
formed me that they had been in Edinburgh, and seen Will 
Faa, upon the bridge, (the south bridge was not then built ;) 
that he was tossing about his old brown hat, and huzzaing, 
with great vociferation, that he had seen the laird before he 
died. Indeed, Will himself had no time to lose ; for, having 
set his face homewards, by the way of the sea-coast, to vary 
his route, as is tlie general custom of the gang, he only got 
the length of Coldingliam, when he was taken ill and died. 

" His death being notified to his friends at Yetholm, they 
and their acquaintances at Berwick, Spittal, Horncliff, &c., 
met to pay the last honours to their old leader. His obse- 
quies were continued three successive days and nights, and 
afterwards repeated at Yetholm, whither he was brought. I 
cannot say that the funeral rites were celebrated with de- 
cency and sobriety, for that was by no means the case. This 
happened in the year 1783, or 1784, and the late Mr. Nis- 
bet did not long survive."* 

In addition to the above graphic report of Baillie Smith, 
I will now give a few details from a MS., given to me by 
Mr. Blackwood, towards the elucidation of the history of 
the Gipsies. This MS. bears the initials of A. W., and ap- 
pears to have been written by a gentleman who had ample 
opportunities of observing the manners of the Border Gip- 
sies. 

* "When Mr. Hoyland commenced making enquiries into the condition of 
the Gipsies, he addressed circulars to the sheriffs, for information. No less 
than thirteen Scotch sheriffs reported, " No Gipsies within the county." 
A report of this kind was nearly as good as would be that of a cockney, as 
to there being no foxes in the country ; because, while riding through it, on 
the stage, he did not nee any ! Baillie Smith's report, although graphic, is 
superficial. He states that the (Jipsies " marry early in life, and in general 
have many children ;" yet " that their aumber seems to be increasing," — Ed. 



253 A HISTORY OF TUB OIPSIES. 

" I am a native of Yetholm parish, and a residenter in it, 
with a little exception, for upwards of fifty years. I well 
remember Kirk - Yetholm, when the Faas and Yomigs 
alone had a footing in it.* The Taits came next, and lat- 
terly, at various periods, the Douglasses, Blyths, Montgom- 
erys, &c. Old William Faa, (with whom I was well ac- 
quainted, and saw him married to his third wifejf) con- 
stantly claimed kindred with the Falls of Dunbar ; and per- 
sisted, to the last, that he himself was the male descendant, 
in a direct line, from the Earl of Little Egypt. For many 
years before his death, Mr. Nisbet of Dirlton, (the then laird 
of Kirk- Yetholm,) gave him the charge of his house, at 
Marlfield, and all its furniture, although he resided six miles 
distant from it. The key of the principal door was regu- 
larly delivered to him, at the laird's departure, I remember 
a sale of wood at Cherry-trees, belonging to the late Sheriff 
Murray. William Faa was a purchaser at the roup, and 
the sheriff proclaimed aloud to the clerk', that he would be 
Mr. Faa's cautioner. All the Tinklers in the village, and 
even strangers resorting thither, considered William Faa 
as the head and leader of the whole. His corpse was es- 

* The tribe of Young have preserved the following tradition respecting 
their first settlement in Yetholm : At a siege of the city of Namur, (date 
unknown,) the laird of Kirk-Yetholm, of the ancient family of Bennets, of 
Grubit and Marlfield, in attempting to mount a breach, at the head of his 
company, was struck to the ground, and all his follo\vers killed, or put to 
flight, except a Gipsy, the ancestor of the Youngs, who resolutely defended 
his master till he recovered his feet, and then, springing past liim upon the 
rampart, seized a flag which he put into his leader's hand. The besieged 
were struck with panic — the assailants rushed again to the breach — Xa- 
mur was taken, and Captain Bennet had the glory of the capture. On re- 
turning to Scotland, the laird, out of gratitude to his faithful followei*, set- 
tled him and his family, (who had formerly been travelling tinkers and 
heckle-makers,) in Kirk-Yetholm ; and conferred upon them, and the Faas, 
a feu of their cottages, for the space of nineteen tmies nineteen years ; 
which they still hold from the Marquis of Tweed-dale, the present proprie- 
tor of the estate. — Blackwood's Magazine. — Ed. 

f On solemn occasions. Will Faa assumed, in his way, all the stately 
deportment of sovereignty. He had twenty-four children, and at each of 
their christenings he appeared, dressed in his original wedding-robes. These 
christenings. were celebrated with no small parade. Twelve young hand- 
maidens were always present, as part of the family retinue, and for the pur- 
pose of waiting on the numerous guests, who assembled to witness the cere- 
mony, or partake of the subsequent festivities. Besides Will's Gipsy 
associates, several of the neighbouring farmers and lairds, with whom he 
was on terms of friendly intercourse, (among others, the Murrays, of Cher- 
ry -trees,) used to attend thesT christenings. — Blackwood's Magazine. — Ed 



BORDER GIPSIES. 253 

corted betwixt Coldstream and Yetholm by above three 
hundred asses. 

" He was succeeded by his eldest son William, one of the 
cleverest fellows upon the Border. For agility of person, 
and dexterity in every athletic exercise, he had rarely met 
with a competitor. He liad a younger brother impressed, 
when almost a boy. He deserted from his ship, in India ; 
enlisted as a soldier, and, by dint of merit, acquired a com- 
mission in a regular regiment of foot, and died a lieutenant, 
within these thirty years, at London. He was an officer un- 
der Governor Wall, at Goree, when he committed the crime 
for which he suffered, twenty years after, in England. 

" It was the present William Faa that the ' Earl of 
Heir contended with ; not for sovereignty, but to revenge 
some ancient animosity.* His lordship lives at ]^ew Cold- 
stream, and was the onlyperson in Berwickshire that durst en- 
counter, in single combat, the renowned Bully-More. Young 
fought three successive battles with Faa, and one desper- 
ate engagement with More, midway between Dunse and 
Coldstream ; and was defeated in all of them. He is a 
younger son of William Young, of Yetholm, the cotempo- 
rary chieftain of old William Faa. It was still a younger 
brother that migrated to Kelso, where he supported a good 
character till he died. Charles Young, the eldest brother, is 
still alive, and chief of the name. The following anecdote of 
him will serve to establish his activity. 

" Mr. Walker, of Thirkstane, the only residing heritor in 
Yetliolm parish, missed a valuable mare, upon a Sunday 
morning. After many fruitless enquiries, at the adjacent 
kirks and neighbourhood, he dispatched a servant for 
Charles, in the evening. He privately communicated to him 
his loss, and added, that he was fully persuaded he could 
be the means of recovering the mare. Charles boldly an- 
swered, ' If she was betwixt the Tyne and the Forth, she 
should be restored.' On the Thursday after, at sunrise, the 
mare was found standing at the stable door, much jaded, and 
very warm. 

" When the Kirk- Yetholm families differed among them- 

* This is in contradiction to the assertion, in Blackwood's Magazine, that, 
on the death of his father, a sort of civil war broke out amon<i^ the Yetholm 
Gipsies; and that the usurper of the regal office was dispossessed, after a 
battle, by the subjects who adhered to the legitimate heir. — Ed. 



254 A mSTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

selves, (and terrible conflicts at times they had,) this same 
Mr. Walker was often chosen sole arbitrator, to decide their 
differences. He has often been locked up in their houses 
for twenty-four hours together, but carefully concealed their 
secrets.* 

" The Yetholm Tinklers keep up an intercourse with their 
friends at Horncliff, Spittal, Rothbury, Hexara, and Har- 
bottle. They go frequently to Newcastle, and even to Staf- 
fordshire, for earthenware, and the whole family embark in 
every expedition. 

" I was at school with most of the present generation of 
Tinklers. I mean the males ; for, to speak truth, I never 
heard of a female Gipsy being educated at all. 

" None of this colony have been either impeached or tried 
for a crime for fifty years past. Two Tinklers have been 
executed at Jedburgh, in my remembrance, named Keith and 
Clark, for murder and horse-stealing. They were strangers, 
from a distance." 

When I visited Yetholm, I fell in with a gentleman who 
resided at that time in Town- Yetholm. I chanced to men- 
tion to him that I was sure all the Gipsies had a method of 
their own in handling the cudgel, but he would not believe 
it. At my request, he took me into some of their houses, 
and, observing an old, rusty sword lying upon the joists of 
an apartment in which we were sitting, I took it down, and, 
under pretence of handling it, in their fashion, gave some of 
the guards of the Hungarian sword-exercise. An old Gipsy, 
of the name of Blyth, shook his head, and observed : " Ay, 

* There would appear to be something remarkable in the position which 
this Mr. Walker held with the Gipsies. I know, from the best of authority, 
that most of the people living in and about Yetholm are Gipsies, settled or 
unsettled, civilized or uncivilized, educated or uneducated ; and of one in 
particular, who went under the title of " Lord Mayor of Yetholm." He 
is now dead. The above mentioned Mr. Walker was probably a relation 
of Dr. Walker, mentioned by Baillie Smith, as the baron-baillie of Yetholm. 
I notice in Blackwood's Magazine, that one William Walker, a Gipsy, in 
company with various Yetholm Gipsies, was indicted at Jedburgh, in 
1714, for fire-raising, but was acquitted. The "Walkers alluded to in the 
text are very probably of the same family, settled, and raised in the world. 
As I have just said, most of the people in and about Yetholm are Gipsies. 
Gipsydom has even eaten its way in among the population round about 
Yetholm. The Rev. Mr. Baird, in conducting the Scottish Church Mission 
among the travelling Gipsies, hailing from Yetholm, doubtless encountered 
many of them incog . But all this will be better understood by the reader 
after he peruses the Disquisition on the Gipsies. — Ed. 



BORDER GIPSIES. 255 

that is an art easily carried about with you ; it may be of 
service to you some day." My friend was then convinced 
of his mistake. 

William Faa, when I was in his house, showed me the 
mark of a stroke of a sword on his right wrist, by which he 
had nearly lost his hand. With others of his clan, he had 
been engaged in a smuggling speculation, on the coast of 
Northumberland, when they were overtaken by a party of 
dragoons, one of whom singled out and attempted to take 
Faa prisoner. William was armed with a stick only, but, 
with his stick in his dexterous hand, he, for a long time, set 
tlie dragoon, with all his arms, at defiance. The horseman, 
now galloping round and round him, attempting to capture 
him, became exasperated at the resistance of a man on foot, 
armed with a cudgel only, and struck with such vigour that 
the cudgel became shattered, and cut in pieces, till nothing 
but a few inches of it remained. Still holding up the stump, 
to meet the stroke of his antagonist's sword, William was 
cut to the bone, and compelled to yield himself a prisoner. 
A person, present at the scuffle, informed me that the only 
remark the brave Tinkler made to the dragoon was, " Ye've 
spoiled a good fiddler." 

William Faa, the lineal descendant of John Faw, " Lord 
and Earl of Little Egypt," when I saw him, appeared about 
sixty years of age, and was tall and genteel-looking, with 
grey hair, and dark eyes. He is the individual who fought 
the three battles with Young, between Dunse and Cold- 
stream. The following notice of his death I have extracted 
from the " Scotsman" newspaper, of the 20th October, 1847 : 

" A LAMENT FOR WILL FAA, 

"the deceased king op little EGYPT. 

" The daisy has faded, the yellow leaf drops ; 
The cold sky looks grey o'er the shrivelled tree-tops ; 
And many around us, since Summer's glad birth, 
Have dropt, like the old leaves, into the cold earth. 
And one worth remembering hath gone to the home 
Where the king and the kaiser must both at last come. 
The King of the Gipsies — the last of a name* 
Which in Scotland's old story is rung on by fame. 
The cold clod ne'er pressed down a manlier breast 
Than that of the old man now gone to his rest. 

* Will Faa had a brother, a house-carpeuter, iu New York, who survived 



256 A BISTORT OF THE GIPSIES. 

" It is meet we remember him ; never again 
Will such foot as old Will's kick a ball o'er the plain, 
Or such hand as his, warm with the warmth of the soul, 
Bid us welcome to Yetholm, to bicker and bowl. 
Oh, the voice that could make the air tremble and ring 
With the great-hearted gladness becoming a king, 
Is silent, is silent ; oh, wail for the day 
When Death took the Border King, brave Willie Faa. 

" No dark Jeddart prison e'er closed upon him, 
The last lord of Egypt ne'er wore gyve on limb. 
Though his grey locks were crownless, the light of his eye 
Was kingly — his bearing majestic and high. 
Though his hand held no sceptre, the stranger can tell 
^hat the full bowl of welcome became it as well ; 
The fisher or rambler, by river or brae, 
Ne'er from old Willie's hallan went empty away. 

" In the old house of Yetholm we've sat at the board, 
The guest, highly honoured, of Egypt's old lord, 
And mark'd his eye glisten as oft as he told 
Of his feats on the Border, his prowess of old. 
It is meet, when that dark eye in death hath grown dim, 
That we sing a last strain in remembrance of him. 
The fame of the Oipsy hath faded away 
With the breath from the brave heart of gallant Will Faa.'* 

him a few years. He was considered a fine old man by those who knew 
him. He left a family in an humble, but respectable, way of doing. The 
Scottish Gipsy throne was occupied by another family of Gipsies, in conse- 
quence of this family being " forth of Scotland." There are a great many 
Faas. under one name or other, scattered over the world. — Ed 



CHAPTER YIII. 

MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE CEREMONIES. 

The Gipsies in Scotland are all married at a very eaily 
age. I do not recollect ever having seen or heard of them, 
male or female, being unmarried, after they were twenty 
years old. There are few instances of bastard children 
among them ; indeed, they declare that their children are all 
born in wedlock.* I know, however, of one instance to the 
contrary ; and of the Gipsy being dreadfully punished for 
seducing a young girl of his own tribe. 

The brother of the female, who was pregnant, took upon 
himself the task of chastising the offender. With a knife in his 
hand, and at the dead hour of night, he went to the house 
of the seducer. The first thing he did was deliberately to 
sharpen his knife upon the stone posts of the door of the 
man's house ; and then, in a gentle manner, tap at the door, 
to bring out his victim. The unsuspecting man came to the 
door, in his shirt, to see what was wanted ; but the saluta- 
tion he received was the knife thrust into his body, and the 
stabs repeated several times. The avenger of his sister's 
wrongs fled for a short while ; the wounded Tinkler recov- 
ered, and, to repair the injury he had done, made the girl 
his wife. The occurrence took place in Mid-Lothian, about 
twenty years ago. The name of tlie woman was Baillie, and 
her husband, Tait. 

* There is one word in the Gipsy language to which is attached more 
importance than to any other thing whatever — Ldcha — the corporeal chas- 
tity of woman ; the loss of which she is, from childhood, taught to dread. 
To ensure its preservation, the mother will liave occasion to the J}icle — a 
kind of drapery which she ties around the daughter ; and which is never 
removed, hut continually inspected, till the day of marriage ; but not for 
fear of the " stranger" or the " white blood." A girl is generally betrothed 
at fourteen, and never married till two years afterward. Betrothal is in- 
variable. But the parties are never permitted, previous to marriage, to 
have any intimate associations together. — Borrow on the Spanish Gipsies. — 
Ed. 

(257) 



258 



A mSTOJRT OF TEE GIPSIES. 



I have not been able to discover any peculiarity in the 
manner of Gipsy courtships, except that a man, above sixty 
years of age, affirmed to me that it was the universal custom, 
among the tribe, not to give away in marriage the younger 
daughter before the elder. In order to have this informa- 
tion confirmed, I enquired of a female, herself one of eleven 
sisters,^ if this custom really existed among her people. She 
waS; at first, averse, evidently from fear, to answer my 
question directly, and even wished to conceal her descent. 
But, at last, seeing nothing to apprehend from speaking 
more freely, she said such was once the custom ; and that it 
had been the cause of many unhappy marriages. She said 
she had often heard the old people speaking about the law 
of not allowing the younger sister to be married before the 
elder. She, however, would not admit of the. existence of 
the custom at the present day, but appeared quite well ac- 





* A GIPSY MULTIPLICATION TABLE. 


Births 
of ChUdren. 


Mar- 
riages. 


Births of 
Grand-chil- 
dren. 


1 






1822, Oct. 1. 


1842 


1843, Jul 




2 




1824, Jan. 1. 


1844 


1844, Oct. 






1 




1825, Apl. 1. 


1845 


1846, Jan. 












1826, Jul. 1. 


1846 


1847, Ap. 








1 


5 




1827, Oct. 1. 


1847 


1848, Jul. 


1 










[6 




1829, Jan. 1. 


1849 


1849, Oct. 












I 


7 




1830, Apl. 1. 


1850 


1851, Jan. 












1 




"8^ 




1831, Jul. 1. 

1832, Oct. 1. 

1834. Jan. 1. 

1835, Apl. 1. 
1836, Jul. 1. 


1851 
1852 
1854 
1855 
1856 


1852, Ap. 

1853, Jul. 

1854, Oct. 
1856. Jan. 
















T 
1 
1 
1 


9 

1 
1 

1 


10 




nil 

1 1112 


TotAl 


12 




llllO( 9 


8 


7 


6 


5 


4 


3 


21 1| 


78 1 



The above table will give a general idea of the natural increase of the 
Gipsies. The reader can make what allowances he pleases, for ages at time 
of marriage, intervals between births, twins, deaths, or numbers of chil- 
dren born. By this table, the Gipsy, by raarrj'ing at twenty years of age, 
would, when 54 years old, have a " following" of no less than 78 souls. 
" There is one of the divine laws," said I to a Gipsy, " which the Gipsies 
obey more than any other people." " What is that ?" replied he, with 
great gravity. " The command to ' Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish 
(but not subdue) the earth.' " Even five generations can be obtained from 
the male, and six from the female Gipsy, in a century, counting Irom first* 



MARRIA GE AND DIVOR CE CEREM ONIES. 259 

quainted with it, and could have informed me full}' of it, 
had she been disposed to speak on the subject. 

The exact parallel to this custom is to be found in the 
Gentoo code of laws, translated by Halhed ; wherein it is 
made criminal for " a man to marry while his elder brother 
remains unmarried ; or when a man marries his daughter to 
such a person ; or where a man gives the younger sister in 
marriage while the elder sister remains unmarried."^ The 
learned translator of the code considers this custom of the 
Gentoos of the remotest antiquity, and compares it with that 
passage in the Book of Genesis, where Laban excuses him- 
self to Jacob for having substituted Leah for Rachel, in 
these words, " It must not be so done in our country, to give 
the younger before the first-born." 

The nuptial ceremony of the Gipsies is undoubtedly of tlie ' 
highest antiquity, and would, probably, be one of the first 
marriage ceremonies observed by mankind, in the very first 
stages of human society. When we consider the extraordi- 
nary length of time the Gipsies have preserved their speech, 
as a secret among themselves, in the midst of civilized society, 
all over Europe, while their persons were proscribed and 
hunted down in every country, like beasts of the chase, we 
are not at all surprised at their retaining some of their an- 
cient customs ; for these, as distinguished from their lan- 
guage, are of easy preservation, under any circumstances in 
which they may have been placed. That may much more 
be said of this ceremony, as there would be an occasion for 
its almost daily observance. It was wrapped up with their 
very existence — the choice of their wives, and the love of their 
offspring — the most important and interesting transactions 
of their lives ; and would, on that account, be one of the longest 
observed, the least easily forgotten, of their ancient usages. 

The nuptial rites of the Scottish Gipsies are, perliaps, un- 
equalled in the history of marriages. At least, I have nei- 
ther seen nor heard of any marriage ceremony that has the 
slightest resemblance to it, except the extraordinary bene- 
diction which our countryman, Mungo Park, received from 
the bride at the Moorish wedding in Ali's camp, at Benown ; 
and that of a certain custom practised by the Mandingoes, 

born to first-born. The reader will notice how large are the Gipsy fami- 
lies incidentally mentioned by our autlior. — Ed. 
* Major Archer says that this law is still in force. 



260 A HIS TOUT OF THE GIPSIES. 

at Kamalia, in Africa, also mentioned by Park.* This cus- 
tom with the Mandingoes and the Gipsies is nearly the same 
as that observed by the ancient Hebrews, in the days of 
Moses, mentioned in the Book of Deuteronomy. When we 
have the manners and customs of every savage tribe hith- 
erto discovered, including even the Hottentots and Abyssin- 
ians, described, in grave publications, by adventurous travel- 
lers, I can see no reason why there should not be preserved, 
and exhibited for the inspection of the public, the manners 
and customs of a barbarous race that have lived so long at 
our own doors — one more interesting, in some respects, than 
any yet discovered ; and more particularly as marriage is a 
very important, indeed the most important, institution among 
the inhabitants of any country, whether civilized or in a 
state of barbarism. How much would not our antiquarians 
now value authenticated specimens of the language, man- 
ners, and customs of the ancient Pictish nation that once 
inhabited Scotland ! 

In describing the marriage ceremony of the Scottish Gip- 
sies, it is scarcely possible to clothe the curious facts in 
language fit to be perused by every reader. But I must 
adopt the sentiment of Sir Walter Scott, as given in the 
Introduction, and " not be squeamish about delicacies, where 
knowledge is to be sifted out and acquired."t 

A marriage cup, or bowl, made out of solid wood, and of 
a capacity to contain about two Scotch pints, or about one 
gallon, is made use of at the ceremony. After the wedding- 
party is assembled, and everything prepared for the occa- 

* " I was soon tired," says Park, " and had retired into my tent. When 
I was sitting, almost asleep, an old woman entered with a wooden bowl in 
her hand, and signified that she had brought mo a present from the bride. 
Before I could recover from the surprise which this message created, the 
woman discharged the contents of the bowl full in my face. Finding that 
it was the same sort of holy water with which, among the Hottentots, a 
priest is said to sprinkle a new-married couple, I began to suspect that the 
lady was actuated by mischief or malice ; but she gave me seriously to un- 
derstand that it was a nuptial benediction from the bride's own person ; 
and which, on such occasions, is always received by the young unmarried 
Moors, as a mark of distinguished favour. This being the case, I wiped my 
face, and sent my acknowledgment to the Isidy." -Parkas Travels, pages 205 
and 206. 

f Whatever prudes and snobs may think of this chapter, I believe that the 
sensible and intelligent reader will agree with me in saying, that the mar- 
riage and divorce ceremonies of the Gipsies are historical goms of the most 
antique and purest water. — Ed. 



MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE CEREMONIES. 261 

sion, the priest takes the bowl and gives it to the bride, 
who passes urine into it ; it is then handed, for a similar 
purpose, to the bridegroom. After this, the priest takes a 
quantity of earth from the ground, and throws it into the 
bowl, adding sometimes a quantity of brandy to the mix- 
ture. He then stirs the whole together, with a spoon made 
of a ram's horn, and sometimes with a large ram's horn it- 
self, which he wears suspended from his neck by a string. 
He then presents the bowl, with its contents, first to the 
bride, and then to the bridegroom ; calling at the same 
time upon each to separate the mixture in the bowl, if they 
can. The young couple are then ordered to join hands 
over the bowl containing the earth, urine, and spirits ; when 
the priest, in an audible voice, and in the Gipsy language, 
pronounces the parties to be husband and wife ; and as none 
can separate the mixture in the bowl, so they, in their per- 
sons, cannot be separated till death dissolves their union. 

As soon as that part of the ceremony is performed, the 
couple undress, and repair to their nuptial couch. After 
remaining there for a considerable time, some of the most 
confidential relatives of the married couple are admitted 
to the apartment, as witnesses to the virginity of the bride ; 
certain tokens being produced to the examining friends, 
at this stage of the ceremony. If all the parties concerned 
are satisfied, the bride receives a handsome present from the 
friends, as a mark of their respect for her remaining chaste 
till the hour of her marriage. This present is, in some in- 
stances, a box of a particular construction.^ 

* On their return from church, the bride is seated at one extremity of a 
room, with the unmarried girls by her ; the bridegroom on the right, and 
the father and mother, or those who perform their office, on the left. The 
male part of the company stand in the corners, singing, and playing on the 
guitar. About one o'clock, the oldest matron, accompanied by others ad- 
vanced in years, conducts the bride into the bed-room, which, according to 
the custom of Spain, is usually a small chamber, without a window, opening 
into the general apartment. 7'wnc vetula, inami sud sponsce naturalibus ad- 
motd, meinbranam, vulvce ori oppositam tmguibics scindit et cruoreni d plapd 
fiisum linteolo excipil. The Gitanos without make a loud noise with their 
whistles, and the girls, striking the door, sing the following couplets, or 
some other like them : 

"Abra vifld la puorta Stir. Joaquin 
Que le voy a vifid a poncr un paAucIito 
En las mano8 que tienen que Uorar 
Toditas las callis." 

The bride then returns from the chamber, accompanied by the matrons, 



262 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

These matters being settled on the spot, the wedded pair 
rise from the marriage-bed, again dress themselves in their 
finest apparel, and again join the wedding-party. The joy 
and happiness on all sides is now excessive. There is 
nothing to be heard or seen but fiddling and piping, dancing, 
feasting and drinking, which are kept up, with tlie utmost 
spirit and hilarity imaginable, for many hours together."^ 

and the new-married couple are placed upon a table, where the bride 
dances, et coram aatantibus linteolum, intcmerati pttdoris indicium explicat ; 
whilst the company, throwing down their presents of sweetmeats, <tc., 
dance and cry, " Viva la honra." — Bright, on the Spanish Gipfiy marriage. 

Before the marriage festival begins, four matrons — relations of the con- 
tracting parties — are appointed to scrutinize the bride ; in which a hand- 
kerchief, of the finest French cambric, takes a leading part. Should she 
prove frail, she will likely be made away with, in a way that will leave no 
trace behind. In carrying out some marriage festivals, a procession \\ill 
take place, led by some vile-looking fellow, bearing, on the end of a long 
pole, the dicle and unspotted handkerchief; followed by the betrothed and 
their nearest friends, and a rabble of Gipsies, shouting and firing, and bark- 
ing of dogs. On arriving at the church, the pole, with its triumphant 
colours, is stuck into the ground, with a loud huzza ; while the train defile, 
on either side, into the church. On returning home, the same takes place. 
Then follows the most ludicrous and wasteful kind of revelling, which often 
leaves the bridegroom a beggar for life. — Borrow, on the Spanish Gipxy mar- 
riage. — Ed. 

* The part of the marriage ceremony of the Gipsies which relates to the 
chastity of the bride has a great resemblance to a part of the nuptial rites 
of the Russians, and the Christians of St. John, in Mesopotamia and Chaldea. 
Dr. Hurd says: " When a new-married couple in Russia retire to the nup- 
tial bed, an old domestic servant stands sentinel at the chamber-door. 
Some travellers tell us that this old servant, as soon as it is proper, attends 
nearer the bedside, to be informed of what happens. Upon the husband's 
declaration of his success and satisfaction, the kettle-drums and trumpets 
proclaim the joyful news." Among the Christians of St. John, as soon as 
the marriage is consummated, " both parties wait upon the bishop, and the 
husband deposes before him that he found his wife a virgin ; and then the 
bishop marries them, puts several rings on their fijigers, and baptizes them 

again A marriage with one who is discovered to have lost her 

honour beforehand but very seldom, if ever, holds good." 

When speaking of the marriages of the Mandingoes, at Kamalia, about 
500 miles in the interior of Africa, Park says : " The new-married couple 
are alwaj^s disturbed toward morning by the women, who assemble to inspect 
the nuptial sheet, (according to the manners of the ancient Hebrews, as 
recorded in Scripture,) and dance around it. This ceremony is thought 
indispensably necessary, nor is the marriage considered valid without it." 
Tark's Ihiveh, page 399. 

By the laws of Menu, the Hindoo could reject his bride, if he found her 
not a virgin. — Sir William Jones. 

[The reader will observe that the marriage ceremony of the Gipsies, 
though barbarous, is very figurative and emphatic, and certainly moral 
enough. To show that the Gipsies, as a people, have :\ot been addicted 



MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE CEREMONIES. 263 

The nuptial mixture is carefully bottled up, and the bottle 
marked with the Roman character, M. In this state, it is 
buried in the earth, or kept in their houses or tents, and is 
carefully preserved, as evidence of the marriage of the par- 
ties. When it is buried in the fields, the husband and wife 
to whom it belongs frequently repair to the spot, and look 
at it, for the purpose of keeping them in remembrance of 
their nuptial vows. Small quantities of the compound are 
also given to individuals of the tribe, to be used for certain 
rare purposes, such, perhaps, as pieces of the bride's cake 
are used for dreaming-bread, among the natives of Scotland, 
at the present day. 

What is meant by employing earth, water, spirits, and, of 
course, air, in this ceremony, cannot be conjectured ; unless 
these ingredients may have some reference to the four ele- 
ments of nature — fire, air, earth, and water. That of using 
a ram's horn, in performing the nuptial rites, has also its 
meaning, could information be obtained concerning that 
part of the ceremony. 

This marriage ceremony is observed by the Gipsies in 
Scotland at the present day. A man, of the name of James 
Robertson, and a girl, of the name of Margaret Graham, 
were married, at Lochgellie, exactly in the manner described. 
Besides the testimony of the Gipsies themselves, it is a 
popular tradition, wherever these people have resided in 
Scotland, that they were all married by mixing of earth and 
urine together in a wooden bowl. I know of a girl, of about 
sixteen years of age, having been married in tlie Gipsy 
fashion, in a kiln, at Appindull, in Perthshire. A Gipsy in- 
formed me that he was at a wedding of a couple on a moor 
near Lochgellie, and that they were married in the ancient 

to the most barbarous customs, in regard to marriage, I note the following 
very singular form of the Scottish Highlanders, which, according to Skene, 
continued in use until a very late period. " This custom was termed ha7id- 
fasting, and consisted in a species of contract between two chiefs, by which 
it was agreed that the heir of one should live with the daughter of tho 
other, as her husband, for twelve months and a day. If, in that time, the 
lady became a mother, or proved to be with child, the marriage became 
good in law, even although no priest had performed the marriage in due 
form; but should there not have occurred any appearance of issue, the con- 
tract was considered at an end, and each party was at liberty to marry, oi 
hand-fast, with any other." Which fact shows that Highland chiefs, at one 
time, would have annulled any, or all, of the laws of God, whenever it 
would hare served their purposes. — Ed.] 



264 A HISTORY OF TEE GIPSIES. 

Gipsy manner described. Shortly after this, a pair were 
married near Stirling, after the custom of their ancestors. 
In this instance, a screen, made of an old blanket, was put 
up in the open field, to prevent the parties seeing each 
other, while furnishing the bowl with what was necessary 
to lawfully constitute their marriage.* The last-named 
Gipsy further stated to me, that when two young folks of 
the tribe agree to be married, the father of the bridegroom 
sleeps with the bride's mother, for three or four nights im- 
mediately previous to the celebration of the marriage. 

Having endeavoured to describe the ancient nuptial cere- 
mony of the Scottish Gipsies, I have considered it proper to 
give some account of an individual who acted as priest on 
such occasions. The name of a famous celebrator of Gipsy 
marriages, in Fifeshire, was Peter Robertson, well known, 
towards the latter end of his days, by the name of Blind 
Pate. Peter was a tall, lean, dark man, and wore a large 
cocked hat, of the olden fashion, with a long staff in his 
hand. By all accounts, he must have been a hundred years 
of age when he died. He was frequently seen at the head 
of from twenty to forty Gipsies, and often travelled in the 
midst of a crowd of women. Whenever a marriage was 
determined on, among the Lochgellie horde, or their imme- 
diate connexions, Peter was immediately sent for, however 
far distant he happened to be at the time from the parties 
requiring his assistance, to join them in wedlock : for he 
was the oldest member of the tribe at the time, and head of 
the Tinklers in the district, and, as the oldest member, it 
was his prerogative to officiate, as priest, on such occasions. 
A friend, who obligingly sent me some anecdotes of this 
Gipsy priest, communicated to me the following facts regard- 
ing him : 

" At the wedding of a favourite Brae-laird, in the shire of 
Kinross, Peter Robertson appeared at the head of a numer- 

* On reading the above ceremony to an intelligent native of Fife, he said 
he had himself heard a Gipsy, of the name of Thomas Ogilvie, say that 
the Tinklers were married in the way mentioned. On one occasion, when 
a couple of respectable individuals were married, in the usual Scottish 
Presbyterian manner, at Elie, in Fife, Ogilvie, Gipsy-like, laughed at such 
a wedding ceremony, as being, in his estimation, no way binding on the 
parties. He at the same time observed that, if they would come to him, 
he would marry them in the Tinkler manner, which would make it a diffi- 
cult matter to separate them again. 



MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE CEREMONIES. 2G5 

ous band of Tinklers, attended by twenty-four asses. He 
was always chief and spokesman for the band. At the wed- 
ding of a William Low, a multerer, at Kinross, Peter, for 
the last time, was seen, with upwards of twenty-three asses 
in his retinue. He had certain immunities and privileges 
allowed him by his tribe. For one thing, he had the sole 
profits arising from the sale of keel, used in marking sheep, 
in the neighbouring upland districts ; and one of the asses 
belonging to the band was always laden with this article 
alone. Peter was also notorious as a physician, and admin- 
istered to his favourites medicines of his own preparation, 
and numbers of extraordinary cures were ascribed to his 
superior skill. He was possessed of a number of wise say- 
ings, a great many of which are still current in the country. 
Peter Robertson was, altogether, a very shrewd and sensible 
man, and no acts of theft were ever laid to his charge, that 
I know of. He had, however, in his band, several females 
who told fortunes. The ceremony of marriage which he 
performed was the same you mentioned to me. The whole 
contents of the bowl were stirred about with a large ram's 
horn, which was suspended from a string round his neck, as 
a badge, I suppose, of his priestly office.* He attended all 
the fairs and weddings for many miles round. The 
Braes of Kinross were his favourite haunt ; so much so 
that, in making his settlement, and portioning his chil- 
dren, he allowed them all districts, in the country round 

* Two ram's horns and two spoons, crossed, are sculptured on the tomb- 
stone of William Marshall, a Gipsy chief, who, according to a writer ia 
Blackwood's Magazine, died at the age of 120 years, and whose remains aro 
deposited in the church-yard of Kirkcudbright. 

A horn is the hieroglyphic of authority, power, and dignity, and is a 
metaphor often made use of in the Scriptures. The Jews held ram's horns 
in great veneration, on account, it is thought, of that animal having been 
caught in a bush b}^ the horns, and used as a substitute, when Isaac waa 
about to be sacrificed by his father ; or, perhaps, on account of this animal 
being first used in sacrifice. So much were ram's horns esteemed by the 
Israelites, that their Priests and Levites used them as trumpets, particularly 
at the taking of Jericho. The modern Jews, when they confess their sins, 
in our month of September, announce the ceremony by blowing a ram's 
horn, the sound of which, they say, drives away the Devil, In ancient 
Egypt, and other parts of Africa, Jupiter Ammon was worshipped under the 
figure of a ram, and to this deity one of these animals was sacrificed annu- 
ally. A ram seems to have been an emblem of power in the East, from the 
remotest ages. It would, therefore, appear that the practice of the Gipsy 
priest " wearing a ram's horn, suspended from a string, around his neck,** 
must be derived from the highest antiquity. 

12 



266 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

about, to travel in ; but he reserved the Braes of Kinross as 
his own pendicle, and hence our favourite toast in the shire 
of Kinross, ' The lasses of Blind Pate's Pendicle.' Besides 
the Braes of Kinross, this Gipsy, in his sweeping verbal tes- 
tament, reserved the town of Dunfermline, also, to himself, 
* because,' said he, ' Dunfermline was in cash, what Loch- 
leven was in water — it never ran dry.' " A great deal of 
booty was obtained by the Tinklers, at the large and long- 
continued fairs which were frequently held in this populous 
manufacturing town, in the olden times. 

This Gipsy priest was uncommonly fond of a bottle of 
good ale. Like many other celebrators of marriages, he 
derived considerable emoluments from his ofiBce. A Gipsy 
informed me that Robertson, on these occasions, always re- 
ceived presents, such as a pair of candlesticks, or basins and 
platters, made of pewter, and such like articles. The dis- 
obedient and refractory members of his clan were chastised 
by him at all times, on the spot, by the blows of his cudgel, 
without regard to age or sex, or manner of striking. When 
any serious scuffle arose among his people, in which he was 
like to meet with resistance, he would, with vehemence, call 
to his particular friends, " Set my back to the wa' ; " and, 
being thus defended in the rear, he, with his cudgel, made 
his assailants in front smart for their rebellion. Although 
he could not see, his daughter would give him the word of 
command. She would call to him, " Strike down" — " Strike 
laigh" (low) — " Strike amawn" (athwart,) — " Strike haunch- 
ways," — " Strike shoulder-ways," &c. In these, we see 
nearly all the cuts or strokes of the Hungarian sword-exer- 
cise. As I have frequently mentioned, all the Gipsies were 
regularly trained to a peculiar method of their own in hand- 
ling the cudgel, in their battles. I am inclined to think that 
part of the Hungarian sword- exercise, at present practised 
in our cavalry, is founded upon the Gipsy manner of attack 
and defence, including even the direct thrust to the front, 
which the Gipsies perform with the cudgel. 

Notwithstanding all that has been said of the licentious 
manners of the Scottish Gipsies, I am convinced that the 
slightest infidelity, on the part of their wives, would be pun- 
ished with the utmost severity. I am assured that nothing 
can put a Gipsy into so complete a rage as to impute incon- 
tinence to his wife. In India, the Gipsy men " are extremely. 



MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE CEREMONIES. 20^ 

jealous of their wives, who are kept in strict subservance, 
and are in danger of corporeal punishment, or absolute dis- 
missal, if they happen to displease them.''* The Gipsies are 
complete Tartars in matters of this kind.T 

But in the best-regulated society — in the most virtuous of 
families — the sundering of the marriage-tie is often unavoid- 
able, even under the most heinous of circumstances. And it 
is not to be expected that the Gipsies should be exempted 
from the lot common to humanity, under whatever circum- 
stances it may be placed. The separation of husband and 
wife is, with them, a very serious and melancholy affair — an 
event greatly to be lamented, while the ceremony is attended 
with much grief and mourning, blood having to be shed, and 
life taken, on the occasion. 

It would be a conclusion naturally to be drawn from the 
circumstance of the Gipsies having so singular a marriage 
ceremony, that they should have its concomitant in as singu- 
lar a ceremony of divorce. The first recourse to which a 
savage would naturally resort, in giving vent to his indigna- 
tion, and obtaining satisfaction for the infidelity of the fe- 
male, (assuming that savages are always susceptible of such 
a feeling,) would be to despatch her on the spot. But the 
principle of expiation, in the person of a dumb creature, for 
offences committed against the Deity, has, from the very 
creation of the world, been so universal among mankind, 
that it would not be wondered at if it should have been ap- 
plied for the atonement of offences committed against each 
other, and nowhere so much so as in the East — the land of 
figure and allegory. The practice obtains with the Gipsies 
in the matter of divorce, for tliey lay upon the head of that 
noble animal, the horse, the sins of their offending sister, 
and generally let her go free. But, it may be asked, how 
has this sacrifice of the horse never been mentioned in Scot- 
land before ? The same question applies equally well to 
their language, and marriage ceremony, yet we know that 
both of these exist at the present day. The fact is, the Gip- 
sies have hitherto been so completely despised, and lield in 
such thorougli contempt, that few ever thought of, or would 

* Edinburgh Encyclopffidia, vol. x. 

\ Mr. Borrow bears very positive testimony to tlie personal virtue of 
Gipsy females. I have heard natives of Hungary speak lightly of them iu 
that respect ; but I conclude that they alluded to exceptions to the gen«?ral 
rule among the race, — Ed. 



268 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

venture to make enquiries of them relative to, their ancient 
customs and manners ; and that, when any of their cere- 
monies were actually observed by the people at large, they 
were looked upon as the mere frolics, the unmeaning and 
extravagant practices, of a race of beggarly thieves and vag- 
abonds, unworthy of the slightest attention or credit."^ In 
whatever country the Gipsies have appeared, they have al- 
ways been remarkable for an extraordinary attachment to 
the horse. The use which they make of this animal, in sacri- 
fice, will sufficiently account, in one way at least, for this 
peculiar feature in their character. Many of tliC horses 
which have been stolen by them, since their arrival in Eu- 
rope, I am convinced, have been used in parting with their 
wives, an important religious ceremony — or at least a cus- 
tom — which tliey would long remember and pra<5tise.t 

It is the general opinion, founded chiefly upon the affinity 
of language, that this singular people migrated from Hin- 
dostan. None of the authors on the Gipsies, however, that 
I am aware of, have, in their researclies, been able to dis- 
cover, among the tribe, any customs of a religious nature, 
by which their religious notions and ceremonies, at the time 
they entered Europe, could be ascertained. Indeed, the 
learned and industrious Grellmann expressly states that the 
Gipsies did not bring any particular religion with them, 
from their native country, by which they could be distin- 
guished from other people. The Gipsy sacrifice of the horse, 
at parting with their wives, however, appears to be a 
remnant of the great Hindoo religious sacrifice of the As- 
ivamedha, or Assummeed Jugg, observed by all the four 
principal castes in India, enumerated in the Gentoo code of 
laws, translated from the Persian copy, by Nathaniel Bras- 
sey Halhed, and is proof, besides the similarity of language, 

* What our author says, relative to the sacrifice of the horse, by the Gip- 
sies, not being known to the people of Scotland at large, is equally applica- 
ble to the entire subject of the tribe. And we see here how admirably the 
passions — in this case, tlie prejudice and incredulity — of mankind are cal- 
culated to blind them to facts, perhaps to facts the most obvious and incon- 
testible. What is stated of the Gipsies in this work, generally, should be 
no matter of wonder ; the real wonder, if wonder there should be, is that it 
should not have been known to the world before. — Ed. 

f Grellmann says, of the Hungarian Gipsies, " The greatest luxury to 
them is when they can procure a roast of cattle that have died of any dis- 
temper, whether it be sheep, pig, cow, or other beast, a horse only ez^ 



MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE CEREMONIES. 2G9 

that the Gipsies are from Hindostan. Before the Gentoo 
code of laws came into my hands, I was inclined to believe 
that this ceremony of sacrificing horses might be a Tartar 
custom, as the ancient Pagan tribes of Tartary also sacrificed 
horses, on certain occasions ; and my conjectures were coun- 
tenanced by the Gipsy and Tartar ceremonies being some- 
what similar in their details. Indeed, in Sweden and 
Denmark, and in some parts of Germany, the Gipsies, as I 
have already stated, obtained the name of Tartars. " They 
were not allowed the privilege of remaining unmolested in 
Denmark, as the code of Danish laws specifies : The Tartar 
Gipsies, who wander about everywhere, doing great damage 
to the people, by their lies, thefts, and witchcraft, shall be 
taken into custody by every magistrate.^' And it also ap- 
pears, according to Grellmann, that the Gipsies sometimes 
called themselves Tartars. If it was observed, on the con- 
tinent, that they sacrificed horses, a custom very common a^ 
one time among the Tartars, their supposed Tartar origin 
would appear to have had some foundation. The Tartar 
princes seem to have ratified and confirmed their military 
leagues by sacrificing horses and drinking of a running 
stream ; and we find our Scottish Gipsies dissolving their 
matrimonial alliances by the solemn sacrifice of the same 
animal, wliile some Gipsies state that horses were also, at 
one time, sacrificed at their marriage ceremonies. At these 
sacrifices of the Scottish Gipsies, no Deity — no invisible 
agency — appears, as far as I am informed, to have been in- 
voked by the sacrificers. 

I have alluded to this custom of the Tartars, more partic- 
ularly, to show that the Gipsies are not the only people 
who have sacrificed horses. The ancient Hindoos, as already 
stated, sacrificed horses. The Greeks did the same to Nep- 
tune ; the ancient Scandinavians to their god, Assa-Thor, 
the representative of the sun ; and the Persians, likewise, to 
the sun.* But I am inclined to believe that the Gipsy sacri- 
fice of the horse is the remains of the grQut AssnmnieedJugg 
of the Hindoos, observed by tribes of greater antiquity than 

* It appears that the Jews, when they lapsed into the grossest idolatry, 
dedicated horses to the sun. " And he (Josiah) took away the horses that 
the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entering in of the liouse of 
the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan melech, the chaniberlain, which was in 
the suburbs, and burnt the chariots of the sua with tire." il Kings, xxiii, 11. 



270 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

the modern nations of India, as appears by the Gentoo code 
of laws already referred to. 

The sacrificing of horses is a curious as well as a leading 
and important fact in the history of the Gipsies, and, as far 
as I know, is new to the world. I shall, in establishing its 
existence among the Scottish Gipsies, produce my authorities 
with my details. 

In the first place, it was, and I believe it still is, a general 
tradition, over almost all Scotland, that, when the Tinklers 
parted from their wives, the act of separation took place 
over the carcass of a dead horse. In respect to McDonald's 
case, alluded to under the head of Linlithgowshire Gipsies, 
my informant, Mr. Alexander Ramsay, late an officer of the 
Excise, a very respectable man, who died in 1819, at the age 
of 74 years, stated to me that he saw McDonald and his 
wife separated over the body of a dead horse, on a moor, at 
Shieldhill, near Falkirk, either in the year 1758 or 1760, he 
was uncertain which. Tlie horse was lying stretched out 
on the heath. The parties took hold of each other by the 
hand, and, commencing at the head of the dead animal, 
walked — the husband on one side, and tlie "wife on the other 
— till they came to the tail, when, without speaking a word 
to each other, they parted, in opposite directions, as if pro- 
ceeding on a journey. Mr. Ramsay said he never could 
forget the violent swing which McDonald gave his wife at 
parting. The time of the day was a little after day-break. 
My informant, at the time, was going, with others, to Shield- 
hill for coals, and happened to be passing over a piece of 
rising ground, when they came close upon the Gipsies, in a 
hollow, quite unexpectedly to both parties. 

Another aged man of credibility, of the name of James 
Wilson, at North Queensferry, also informed me that it was 
within his own knowledge, that a Gipsy, of the name of John 
Lundie, divorced four wives over dead horses, in the manner 
described. Wilson further mentioned that, when Gipsies 
were once regularly separated over a dead horse, they could 
never again be united in wedlock ; and that, unless they 
were divorced in this manner, all the children which the 
female miglit have, subsequently to any other mode of sepa- 
ration, the liusband was obliged to support. In fact, the 
transaction was not legal, according to the Gipsy usages, 
without the horse. The facts of Lundie, and another Gipsy, 



MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE CEREMONIES. 271 

of the name of Druraraond, having divorced many wives 
over dead horses, liave been confirmed to me by several 
aged individuals who knew them personally. One intelli- 
gent gentleman, Mr. Richard Baird, informed me that, in his 
youth, he actually saw John Lundie separated from one of 
his wives over a dead horse, in the parish of Carriden, near 
Bo'ness. My father, who died in 1837, at the age of nearly 
83 years, also stated that it was quite current, in Tweed-dale, 
that Mary Yorkston, wife of Matthew Baillie, the Gipsy 
chief, parted married couples of her tribe over dead horses. 

About ten years after receiving the above information, 
Malcolm's Anecdotes of the Manners and Customs of Lon- 
don came into my hands ; wherein I found the following 
quotations, from a work published in 1674, describing the 
different classes of impostors at that period in England : 
" Patricos," says this old author, " are strolling priests ; 
every hedge is their parish, and every wandering rogue 
their parishioner. The service, he saitli, is the marrying of 
couples, without the Gospels or Book of Common Prayer ; 
the solemnity whereof is this : The parties to be married 
find out a dead horse, or other beast ; standing, one on the 
one side, and the other on the otherj the Patrice bids them 
live together till death part them ; so, shaking hands, the 
wedding is ended." Now the parties here described seem 
to have been no other than Gipsies. But it also appears 
that the ceremony alluded to is that of dissolving a mar- 
riage, and not that of celebrating it. It is proper, however, 
to mention, as I have already done, that horses, at one time, 
were sacrificed at their marriages, as well as at their di- 
vorces. 

Feeling now quite satisfied that Gipsies were, at one 
time, actually separated over the bodies of dead horses, and 
horses only, (for I could find no other animal named but 
horses,) I proceeded to have the fact confirmed by the direct 
testimony of the people tliemselves. And whetlier tliese 
horses were sacrificed expressly for such purposes, or whether 
the rites were performed over horses accidentally found 
dead, I could not discover till the year 1828. It occurred 
to me that the using of dead horses, in separating man and 
wife, was a remnant of some ancient ceremony, wliich induced 
me to persevere in my enquiries, for the |)ur})ose of ascer- 
taining, if not the origin, at least the particulars, of so ex- 



272 A EISTOUY OF THE GIPSIES. 

traordinary a custom. In the year mentioned, and in the 
year following, I examined a Gipsy on tlie subject ; a man 
of about sixty years of age, who, a few years before, had 
given me a specimen of his language. He said that he liim- 
self had witnessed the sacrifices and ceremonies attending 
the separation of husband and wife. From this man I re- 
ceived the following curious particulars relative to the sacri- 
fice of horses and ceremony of divorce ; which I think may 
be depended on, as I was very careful in observing that his 
statements, taken down at four different times, agreed with 
each other. 

When the parties can no longer live together as husband 
and wife, and a separation for ever is finally determined on, 
a horse, without blemish, and in no manner of way lame, is 
led forth to the spot for performing the ceremony of divorce. 
The hour at which the rites must be performed is, if possible, 
twelve o'clock at noon, " when the sun is at his height.''^" 
The .Gipsies present cast lots for the individual who is to 
sacrifice the animal, and whom they call the priest, for the 
time. The priest, with a long pole or staff in his hand.f 
walks round and round the animal several times ; repeating 
the names of all the persons in whose possession it has been, 
and extolling and expatiating on the rare qualities of so use- 
ful an animal. It is now let loose, and driven from their 
presence, to do whatever it pleases. Tlie horse, perfect and 
free, is put in the room of the woman who is to be divorced ; 

* This Gipsy mentioned one particular instance of having seen a couple 
separated in this way, on a wild moor, near Huntl}^, about the year 1805. 
He particularly stated that a horse found dead would not do for a separa- 
tion, but that one must be killed for the express purpose ; and that " the 
sun must be at his height" before the horse could be properl}' sacrificed. 
From the fact of Ramsay stumbling upon the Gipsies " a little after day- 
break," it would seem that circumstances had compelled them to change 
the time, or adjourn the completion, of the sacrifice ; or that the extreme 
wildness of the victim had prevented its being caught, and so led to the 
" violent swing which McDonald gave his wife at parting." And it might 
be that Ramsay had come upon them when McDonald and his wife were 
performing the last part of the ceremony, or had caused tbem to finish it 
abruptly; as the old Gipsy stated that not only are none but Gipsies 
allowed to be present on such occasions, but that the greatest secrecy ia 
observed, to prevent discovery by those who are not of the tribe. 

\ It appears all the Gipsies, male as well as female, who perform cere- 
monies for their tribe, carry long staffs. In the Institutes of Menu, page 
23, it is written : " The staff of a priest must be of such length as to reach 
his hair ; that of a soldier to reach his forehead; and that of a merchant 
to reach his nose." 



MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE CEREMONIES. 273 

and by its different movements is the degree of her guilt 
ascertained. Some of the Gipsies now set off in pursuit of 
it, and endeavour to catch it. If it is wild and intractable, 
kicks, leaps dykes and ditches, scampers about, and will not 
allow itself to be easily taken hold of, the crimes and guilt 
of the woman are looked upon as numerous and heinous. If 
the horse is tame and docile, when it is pursued, and suffers 
itself to be taken without much trouble, and without exhibit- 
ing many capers, the guilt of the woman is not considered 
so deep and aggravated ; and it is then sacrificed in her 
stead. But if it is extremely wild and vicious, and cannot 
be taken without infinite trouble, her crimes are considered 
exceedingly wicked and atrocious ; and my informant said 
instances occurred in which both horse and woman were 
sacrificed at the same time ; the death of the horse, alone, 
being then considered insufficient to atone for her excessive 
guilt. The individuals who catch the horse bring it before 
the priest. They repeat to him all the faults and tricks it 
had committed ; laying the whole of the crimes of which 
the woman is supposed to have been guilty to its charge ; 
and upbraiding and scolding the dumb creature, in an angry 
manner, for its conduct. They bring, as it were, an accusa- 
tion against it, and plead for its condemnation. When this 
part of the trial is finished, the priest takes a large knife 
and thrusts it into the heart of the horse ; and its blood is 
allowed to flow upon the ground till life is extinct. The 
dead animal is now stretched out upon the ground. The 
husband then takes his stand on one side of it, and the wife 
on the other ; and, holding eacli other by the hand, repeat 
certain appropriate sentences in the Gipsy language. They 
then quit hold of each other, and walk three times round the 
body of the horse, contrariwise, passing and crossing each 
other, at certain points, as they proceed in opposite directions. 
At certain parts of the animal, (the corners of the horse, was 
the Gipsy's expression,) such as the hind and fore feet, the 
shoulders and haunches, the head and tail, the parties halt, 
and face each other ; and again repeat sentences, in their 
own speech, at each time they halt. The two last stops they 
make, in their circuit round the sacrifice, are at the head and 
tail. At the head, they again face each other, and speak ; 
and lastly, at the tail, they again confront each other, utter 
some more Gipsy expressions, shake hands, and finally part, 
12^ 



274 A HISTOBY OF THE GIPSIES. 

the one going north, the other south, never again to be 
united in this life.* Immediately after tlie separation takes 
place, the woman receives a token, which is made of cast- 
iron, about an inch and a half square, with a mark upon it 
resembling the Roman character, T. After the marriage has 
been dissolved, and the woman dismissed from the sacrifice, 
the heart of the horse is taken out and roasted with fire, 
then sprinkled with vinegar, or brandy, and eaten by the 
husband and his friends then present ; the female not being 
allowed to join in this part of the ceremony. The body of 
the horse, skin and everything about it, except the heart, ia 
buried on the spot ; and years after the ceremony has taken 
place, the husband and his friends visit the grave of the 
animal, to see whether it has been disturbed. At these 
visits, they walk round about the grave, with much grief and 
mourning. 

The husband may take another wife whenever he pleases, 
but the female is never permitted to marry again.t The 
token, or rather bill of divorce, which she receives, must 
never be from about her person. If she loses it, or attempts 
to pass herself off as a woman never before married, she 
becomes liable to the punishment of death. In the event of 
her breaking this law, a council of the chiefs is held upon 
her conduct, and her fate is decided by a majority of the 
members ; and, if she is to suffer death, her sentence must 
be confirmed by the king, or principal leader. The culprit 
is then tied to a stake, with an iron chain, and there cudgel- 
led to death. The executioners do not extinguish life at one 
beating, but leave the unhappy woman for a little while, and 
return to her, and at last complete their work by despatch- 
ing her on the spot. 

I have been informed of an instance of a Gipsy falling out 
with his wife, and, in the heat of his passion, shooting his 
own horse dead on the spot with his pistol, and forthwith 

* That I might distinctly understand the Gipsy, when he described the 
manner of crossing and wheeling round the corners of the horse, a common 
sitting-chair was placed on its side between us, which represented the 
animal lying on the ground. 

f Bright, on the Spanish Gipsies, says : " Widows never marry again, 
find are distinguished by mourning-veils, and black shoes made like those 
of a man; no slight mortification, in a country where the females are so re- 
markable for the beauty of their feet." It is most likely that divorced fe- 
male Gipsies are confounded here with u-idows. — Ed. 



MARBIAOE AND DIVORCE CEREMONIES. 275 

performing the ceremony of divorce over the animal, with- 
out allowing himself a moment's time for reflection on the 
subject. Some of the country-people observed the transac- 
tion, and were liorrified at so extraordinary a proceeding. 
It was considered by them as merely a mad frolic of an en- 
raged Tinkler. It took place many years ago, in a wild, se- 
questered spot between Galloway and Ayrshire. 

This sacrifice of the horse is also observed by the Gipsies 
of the Russian Empire. In the year 1830, a Russian gentle- 
man of observation and intelligence, proprietor of estates on 
the banks of the Don, stated to me that the Gipsies in the 
neighbourhood of Moscow, and on the Don, several hundred 
versts from the sea of Asoph, sacrificed horses, and ate part 
of their flesh, in the performance of some very ancient cere- 
mony of idolatry. They sacrifice them under night, in the 
woods, as the practice is prohibited by the Russian Govern- 
ment. The police are often detecting the Gipsies in these 
sacrifices, and the ceremony is kept as secret as possible. 
My informant could not go into the particulars of the Gipsy 
sacrifice in Russia ; but there is little doubt that it is the 
same which the tribe performed in Scotland. In Russia, the 
Gipsies, like those in this country, have a language peculiar 
to themselves, which they retain as a secret among their own 
fraternity. 

As regards the sacrificing of horses by the Gipsies of 
Scotland, at the present day, all that I can say is that I do 
not know of its taking place ; nor has it been denied to me. 
The only conclusion to which I can come, in regard to the 
question, is that it is in the highest degree probable that, 
like their language and ceremony of marriage, it is still 
practised when it can be done. In carrying out this cere- 
mony, there is an obstacle to be overcome which does not 
lie in the way of that of marriage, and it is this : Where are 
many of the Tinklers to find a horse, over which they can 
obtain a divorce? The difficulty with them is as great as 
it is with the people of England, who must, at a frightful 
expense, go to no less than the House of Lords to obtain an 
act to separate legally from their unfaitliful partners."'^ The 
Gipsies, besides being generally unable or unwilling to bear 
the expense of what will procure tliem a release in tlieir own 
way, find it a difficult matter, in these days, to steal, carry off, 

* TJiis (ijfficulty has been removed by recent legislation. — Ed. 



276 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

and dispose of such a bulky article as a horse, in the sacri- 
fice of which they will find a new wife. I am not aware 
how they get rid of this solemn and serious difficulty, be- 
yond this, that a Gipsy, a native of Yetholm, informed me 
that some of his brethren in that colony knock down their 
asses, for the purpose of parting with their wives, at the pres- 
ent day.* 

As the code of the ancient laws of Hindostan is not in 
the hands of every one, I shall here transcribe from the 
work the account of the Gentoo Institution of the Asica- 
medha or the Assummeed Jucjg,^ that the reader may com- 
pare it with the Gipsy sacrifice of horses ; for which, owing 
to its length, I must crave his indulgence. It is under the 
chapter of evidence, and is as follows : 

" An Assummeed Jucjg is when a person, having com- 
menced a Jugg, writes various articles upon a scroll of 
paper on a horse's neck, and dismisses the horse, sending, 
along with the horse, a stout and valiant person, equipped 
"with the best necessaries and accoutrements, to accompany 
the horse day and night, whithersoever he shall choose to 
go ; and if any creature, either man, genius or dragon, 
should seize the horse, that man opposes such attempt, and, 
having gained the victory, upon a battle, again gives the 
horse his freedom. If any one in this world, or in heaven, 
or beneath the earth, would seize this horse, and the horse 
of himself comes to the house of the celebrator of the Jngg, 
upon killing that horse, he must throw the flesh of him upon 
the fire of the Juh, and utter the prayers of his Deity ; such a 
Jugg is called a Jugg Assummeed, and the merit of it, as 
a religious work, is infinite." Page 127. 

In another part of the same chapter of the Hindoo code 
of laws, are the following particulars relative to liorses, 
which show the great respect in which these animals were 
held among the ancient natives of Hindostan. " In an affair 
concerning a horse : if any person gives false evidence, his 
guilt is as great as the guilt of murdering one hundred per- 
sons." Page 128. In the Asiatic Researches, the sacrifice 

* " An ass is sometimes sacrificed by religious mendicants, as an atone- 
ment for some fault by which they had forfeited their rank as devotees." — 
Account of the Hindoos. 

t '^^SS' '^^ Hindostanee, is a word which signifies a religious ceremony ; 
hence the well-known temple Juggernaut. 



MAHBIAajE AND DIVORCE CEREMONIES. 277 

of the horse is frequently noticed ; and in Sir William 
Jones' Institutes of Menu, chapter viii.,page 202, it is said : 
" A false witness, in the case of a horse, kills, or incurs the 
guilt of killing, one hundred kinsmen." " The Asivamedha, 
or sacrifice of tlie horse : Considerable difficulties usually 
attend that ceremony ; for the consecrated horse was to be 
set at liberty for a certain time, and followed at a distance 
by the owner, or his champion, who was usually one of his 
near kinsmen ; and if any person should attempt to stop it 
in its rambles, a battle must inevitably ensue ; besides, as 
the performer of a hundred AsivamedJias became equal to 
the god of the firmaments." {Asiatic Besearches, vol. iii., 
page 216.) " The inauguration of Indra, (the Indian God of 
the firmaments,) it appears, was performed by sacrificing a 
hundred horses. It is imagined tliat this celebration be- 
comes a cause of obtaining great power and imiversal mon- 
archy ; and many of the kings in ancient India performed 
this sacrifice at their inauguration, similar to that of In- 
dra's." " These monarchs were consecrated by these great 
sacrifices, with a view to become universal conquerors." 
[Asiatic Besearches.) It appears, by tlie Hindoo mythology, 
that Indira was at one time a mere mortal, but by sacrificing 
a hundred horses, he became sovereign of the firmament ; 
and that should any Indian monarch succeed in immolating a 
hundred horses, he would displace Indra. 

The above are literal and simple facts, which took place 
in performing the sacrifice ; but the following is the explan- 
ation of the mystic signification contained in the ceremony. 

" The Assummeed Jugg does not merely consist in the 
performance of that ceremony which is open to the inspec- 
tion of the world, namely, in bringing a horse, and sacrific- 
ing him ; but Assummeed is to be taken in a mystic signifi- 
cation, as implying that the sacrificer must look upon himself 
to be typified in that horse, such as he shall be described ; 
because the religious duty of the Assummeed Jugg compre- 
hends all those other religious duties, to the performance of 
which all the wise and lioly direct all their actions ; and by 
which all the sincere professors of every different faith aim 
at perfection. The mystic signification tiiereof is as fol- 
lows : The head of that unblemished liorse is tlie symbol 
of the morning ; his eyes are the sun ; his breath the wind ; 
his wide-opening mouth is the Bishwaner, or that innate 



278 A HIS TOUT OF THE GIPSIES. 

warmth which invigorates all the world ; his body typifies 
one entire year ; his back, paradise ; his belly, the plains ; 
his hoof, this earth ; his sides, the four quarters of the hea- 
vens ; the bones thereof, the intermediate spaces between 
the four quarters ; the rest of his limbs represent all distinct 
matter ; the places where those limbs meet, or his joints, imply 
the months, and halves of the months, which are called Peche 
(or fortnights) ; his feet signify night and day ; and night and 
day are of four kinds ; first, the night and day of Brihma ; 
second, the night and day of angels ; third, the night and day 
of the world of the spirits of deceased ancestors ; fourth, the 
night and day of mortals. These four kinds are typified in 
his four feet. The rest of his bones are the constellations 
of the fixed stars, which are the twenty-eight stages of the 
moon's course, called the lunar year ; his flesh is the clouds ; 
his food the sand ; his tendons tlie rivers ; his spleen and 
liver the mountains ; the hair of liis body the vegetables, 
and his long hair the trees. The fore part of his body typi- 
fies the first half of the day, and the hinder part the latter 
half; his yawning is the flash of the lightning, and his 
turning himself is the thunder of the cloud ; his urine rep- 
resents the rain ; and his mental reflection is his only 
speech. 

" The golden vessels, which are prepared before the horse 
is let loose, are the light of the day ; and the place where 
these vessels are kept is a type of the ocean of the East ; 
the silver vessels, which are prepared after the horse is let 
loose, are the light of the night ; and the place where those 
vessels are kept is a type of the ocean of tlie West. These 
two sorts of vessels are always before and after the horse. 
The Arabian horse, which, on account of his swiftness, is 
called By, is the performer of the journeys of angels ; the 
Tdjee, which is of the race of Persian horses, is the per- 
former of the journeys of the Kundheiys (or the good spirits); 
the Wdzhd, which is of the race of tlie deformed Tdjee 
horses, is the performer of the journeys oiJins (or demons) ; 
and the Ashoo, which is of the race of Turkish horses, is 
the performer of the journeys of mankind. This one horse 
which performs these several services, on account of his 
four different sorts of riders, obtains the four different ap- 
pellatiDns. The place where this horse remains is the great 
ocean, which signifies the great spirit oi Perm-atmd^ or the 



MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE CEREMONIES. 279 

universal soul, which proceeds also from that Perm-atmdi 
and is comprehended in the same Perm-atmd, 

" The intent of this sacrifice is, that a man should con- 
sider himself to be in the place of that horse, and look upon 
all these articles as typified in himself ; and conceiving the 
Atmd (or divine soul) to be an ocean, should let all thought 
of self be absorbed in that AtmdJ^ Page 19. 

Mr. Halhed, the translator, justly observes : " This is the 
very acme and enthusiasm of allegory, and wonderfully dis- 
plays the picturesque powers of fancy in an Asiatic genius ; 
yet, unnatural as the account there stands, it is seriously 
credited by the Hindoos of all denominations." On the 
other hand, he thinks there is a great resemblance between 
tliis very ancient Hindoo ceremony and the sacrifice of the 
scape-goat, in the Bible, described in tlie 21st and 22d 
verses of the 16th chapter of Leviticus, viz. : " And Aaron 
shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and 
confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, 
and all their transgressions, in all their sins, putting them 
upon the head of the goat ; and shall send him away, by the 
hand of a fit man, into the wilderness : and tlie goat shall 
bear upon him all their iniquities into a land not inhabited ; 
and he shall let go the goat into the wilderness." Page 17. 
In the same manner, all the iniquities of the sacrificer, in 
the Gentoo ceremony, are laid upon the horse, which is let 
loose, and attended by a stout and valiant person. The 
same is done in the Gipsy sacrifice, as typifying the woman 
to be divorced. 

The resemblance between the Gipsy and the Hindoo sac- 
rifice is close and striking in their general bearings. The 
Hindoo sacrificer is typified in the horse, and his sins are 
ascertained and described by the motions or movements of 
the animal ; for if the horse is very docile and tame, and of 
its own accord comes to the Hindoo celebrator of the sacri- 
fice, his merits are then infinite, and extremely acceptable to 
the Deity worshipped. In the Gipsy sacrifice, if the horse 
is in like manner quiet, and easily caught, the woman, whom 
it represents, is then comparatively innocent. In India, part 
of the flesh of the horse was eaten : among the Gipsies, the 
heart is eaten. The Plindoos sacrificed their enemies^ by 
substituting for them a buffalo, <fec. : the Gipsies sacrifice 
their unfaithful wives, by the substitute of a horse. In the 



280 A HIS TOBY OF THE GIPSIES. 

Hindoo sacrifice, particular parts of the horse allegorically 
represent certain parts of the earth : at certain parts of the 
horse, (the corners, as the Gipsies call them,) the Gipsies, in 
their circuit round the animal, halt, and utter particular 
sentences in their own language, as if these parts were of 
more importance, and had more influence, than the other 
parts. And it is probable that, in these sentences, some in- 
visible agency was addressed and invoked by the Gipsies. 

As the Asiuamedha, or sacrifice of the horse, was the most 
important of all the religious ceremonies of every caste of 
Hindoos, in ancient India, so it would be the last to be for- 
gotten by the wandering Gipsies. And as both sacrificed at 
twelve o'clock, noon, I am inclined to believe that both of- 
fered their sacrifice to the sun, the animating soul of univer- 
sal nature. As already stated, tlie Gipsies, while travelling, 
assume new names every morning before settiug out ; but 
when noon-tide arrives, they resume their permanent English 
ones. This custom is practised daily, and has undoubtedly 
also some reference to the sun. By the account of the Gipsy 
already mentioned, the horse must, if possible, be killed at 
noon. According to Southey, in his curse of Kehamah, the 
sacrifice of the horse in India was performed at the same 
time. Colonel Tod, in his history of India, says : " The 
sacrifice of the horse is the most imposing, and the earliest, 
heathenish rite on record, and was dedicated to the sun, an- 
ciently, in India." According to the same author, the horse 
in India must be milk-white, with particular marks upon it. 
The Gipsy's horse to be sacrificed must be sound, and with- 
out blemish ; but no particular colour is mentioned. Ac- 
cording to Halhed, the horse sacrificed in India was also 
without blemish. 

I have, perhaps, been too minute and tedious in describing 
these rites and ceremonies of the Gentoos ; but the singular 
fact that our Scottish Tinklers yet — at least till very lately — 
retained the important fragments of the ancient mytliology 
of the Pagan tribes of Hindostan, is ofi"ered as an apology to 
the curious reader for the trouble of perusing the details. I 
shall only add, that there appears to be nearly as great a 
resemblance between the sacrifices of the Gipsies and the 
ancient Hindoos, as there is aflSnity between modern Hin- 
dostanee and the language of the Gipsies in Scotland, at the 
present day, as will be seen in the following chapter. 



CHAPTER IX. 



LANGUAGE 



The Scottish Gipsies appear to be extremely tenacions of 
retaining their language, as their principal secret, among 
themselves, and seem, from what I have read on the subject, 
to be much less communicative, on this and other matters 
relative to their history, than those of England and other 
countries. On speaking to them of their speech, they ex- 
hibit an extraordinary degree of fear, caution, reluctance, 
distrust, and suspicion ; and, rather than give any informa- 
tion on the subject, will submit to any self-denial. It has 
been so well retained among themselves, that I believe it is 
scarcely credited, even by individuals of the greatest intel- 
ligence, that it exists at all, at the present day, but as slang, 
used by common thieves, house-breakers and beggars, and 
by those denominated flash and family men.* 

* Before considering this trait in tlie character of the Scottish Gipsies, 
it may interest the reader to know that the same peculiarity obtains among 
those on the continent. 

Of the Hungarian Gipsies, Grellmann writes : ** It will be recollected, from 
the first, how great a secret they make of their language, and how sus- 
picious they appear when any person wishes to learn a few words of it. 
Even if the Gipsy is not perverse, he is very inattentive, and is conse- 
quently likely to answer some other rather than the true Gipsy word." 

Of the Hungarian Gipsies, Bright says : " No one, who has not had ex- 
perience, can conceive the difficulty of gaining intelligible information, from 
people so rude, upon the subject of their language. If you ask for a word, 
they give you a whole sentence ; and on asking a second time, they give 
the sentence a totally different turn, or introduce some ligure altogether 
new. Thus it was with our Gipsy, who, at length, tired of our questions, 
prayed most piteously to be released ; which we granted him, only on con- 
dition of his returning in the evening." 

Of the Spanish Gipsies, Mr. Borrow writes: "It is only by listening 
attentively to the speech of the (iitanos, Avbilst discoursing among tliem- 
selves, that an acquaintance with their dialect can be formed, and by seizing 
upon all unknown words, as they fall in succession from tlioir lii)S. Notli- 
ing can be more useless and hopeless than the attempt to obtain possession 

(281) 



282 A BISTORT OF THE GIPSIES. 

Among the causes contributing to this state of things 
among the Scottish Gipsies, and what are called Tink- 
lers or Tinkers, for they are the same people, may be men- 
tioned the following : The traditional accounts of the nu- 
merous imprisonments, banishments, and executions, which 
many of the race underwent, for merely being " by habit 
and repute Gipsies," under the severe laws passed against 
them, are still fresh in the memories of the present genera- 
tion. They still entertain the idea that they are a perse- 
cuted race, and liable, if known to be Gipsies, to all the 
penalties of the statutes framed for the extirpation of the 
whole people. But, apart from tliis view of the question, 
it may be asked, how is it that the Gipsies in Scotland are 
more reserved, (they are generally altogether silent,) in re- 
spect to themselves, than their brethren in other countries 
seem to be ? It may be answered, that our Scottish tribes 

of their vocabulary, by enquiring of them how particular objects and ideas 
are styled in the same ; for, with the exception of the names of the most 
common things, they are totally incapable, as a Spanish writer has observed, 
of yielding the required information ; owing to their great ignorance, the 
shortness of their memories, or, rather, the state of bewilderment to which 
their minds are brought by any question which tends to bring their reason- 
ing faculties into action ; though, not unfrequently, the very words which 
have been in vain required of them will, a minute subsequently, proceed 
inadvertently from their mouths." 

What has been said by the two last-named writers is very wide of the 
mark; Grellmann, however, hits it exactly. The Gipsies have excellent memo- 
ries. It is all they have to depend on. If they had not good memories, how 
could they, at the present day, speak a word of their language at all ? The 
difficulty in question is down-right shuffling, and not a want of memory on 
the part of the Gipsy. The present chapter will throw some liglit on the 
subject. Even Mr. Borrow himself gives an ample refutation to his sweep- 
ing account of the Spanish Gipsies, in regard to their language ; for, in an- 
other part of his work, he says : " I recited the Apostles' Creed to the 
Gipsies, sentence by sentence, which they translated as I proceeded. They 
exhibited the greatest eagerness and interest in their unwonted occupation, 
and frequently broke into loud disputes as to the best rendering, many be- 
ing offered at the same time. I then read the translation aloud, whereupon 
they raised a shout of exultation, and appeared not a little proud of the 
composition," On this occasion, Mr. Borrow evidently had the Gipsies in 
the right humour — that is, off their guard, excited, and much interested in 
the subject. He says, in another place : " The language they speak among 
themselves, and they are particularly anxious to keep others in ignorance 
of it." Asa general thing, they seem to have been bored by people much 
above them in the scale of society ; with whom, their natural politeness, 
and expectations of money or other benefits, would naturally lead them to 
do anything than give thera that which it is inborn in their nature to 
keep to themselves. — Ed, 



LANGUAGE. 283 

are, in general, much more civilized, their bands more broken 
up, and the individuals more mixed with, and scattered 
through, the general population of the country, than the 
Gipsies of otlier nations ; and it therefore appears to me 
tliat the more their blood gets mixed with that of the ordi- 
nary natives, and the more they approach to civilization, the 
more determinedly will they conceal every particular rela- 
tive to their tribe, to prevent their neighbours ascertaining 
their origin and nationality. The slightest taunting allu- 
sion to the forefathers of half-civilized Scottish Tinklers 
kindles up in their breasts a storm of wrath and fury : for 
they are extremely sensitive to the feeling wliich is enter- 
tained toward their tribe by the other inhabitants of the 
country.* " I have," said one of them to me, " wrought all 
my life in a shop with fellow-tradesmen, and not one of 
them ever discovered tliat I knew a single Gipsy word." A 
Gipsy woman also informed me that herself and sister had 
nearly lost their lives, on account of their language. The 
following are the particulars : The two sisters clianced to 
be in a public-house near Alloa, when a number of colliers, 
belonging to the coal-works at Sauchie, were present. The 
one sister, in a low tone of voice, and in the Gipsy language, 
desired the other, among other things, to make ready some 
broth for their repast. The colliers took hold of the two 
Gipsy words, shaucha and hlaivJcie, which signify broth and 
pot ; thinking the Tinkler women were calling them Sauchie 
Blackies, in derision and contempt of their dark, subterra- 
neous calling. The consequence was, that the savage colliers 
attacked the innocent Tinklers, calling out that they would 
'' grind tliem to powder," for calling tliem Sauchie Blackies. 
But the determined Gipsies would rather perish than explain 
the meaning of the words in English, to appease the en- 
raged colliers ; " for," said they, " it would have exposed 
our tribe, and made ourselves odious to the world." The 
two defenceless females might have been murdered by tlieir 
brutal assailants, had not the master of the liouse fortunately 
come to their assistance. The poor Gii)sies felt the effects 

* This opinion is confirnied by the fact that the Gipsies whom the Rev. 
Mr. Crabbe has civilized will not now be seen among; the others of the 
tribe, at his annual festival, at Southampton. Wc have already seen, undei 
the head of Continental Gipsies, that " those who are |^:old washers in 
Transylvania and the Banat have no intercourse with others of their na- 
tion; nor do they like to be called Gipsies." 



284 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

of the beating they had received, for many months thereafter ; 
and my informant had not recovered from her bruises at the 
time she mentioned the circumstances to me.* 

They are also anxious to retain their language, as a secret 
among themselves, for the use which it is to them in con- 
ducting business in markets or other places of public resort. 
But they are very chary of the manner in which they em- 
ploy it on such occasions. Besides this, they display all the 
pride and vanity in possessing the language which is com- 
mon with linguists generally. The determined and uni- 
form principle laid down by them, to avoid all communi- 
cations with " strangers" on the subject, and tlieir resolution 
to keep it a secret within their own tribe, will be strikingly 
illustrated by the following facts. 

For seven years, a woman, of the name Of Baillie, about 
fifty years of age, and the mother of a family, called regu- 
larly at my house, twice a year, while on her peregrinations 
through the country, selling sjwons and other articles made 
from horn. Every time I saw her, I endeavoured to prevail 
upon her to give me some of her secret speech, as I was cer- 
tain she was acquainted with the Gipsy tongue. But, not 
to alarm her by calling it by that name, I always said to 
her, in a jocular manner, that it was the mason word I wished 
her to teach me. She, however, as regularly and firmly 
declared that she knew of no such language among the 
Tinklers. I always treated her kindly, and desired her to 
continue her visits. I gave her, each time she called, a 
glass of spirits, a piece of flesh, and such articles ; and 
generally purchased some trifle from her, for whicli I inten- 
tionally paid her more than its value. She so far yielded 
to my importunities, that, for the last three years she called, 
she went the length of saying that she would tell me " some- 
thing" the next time she came back. But when she returned, 
she guardedly evaded all my questions, by constantly repeat- 
ing nearly the same answer, such as, " I will speak to you 
the next time I come back, sir." After having been put off 
for seven years in this manner, I was determined to put her 

* On the whole, however, our Scottish peasantry, in some districts, do 
not greatly despise the Tinklers ; at least not to the same extent as tlie 
inhabitants of some other countries seem to do. When not inyolved in 
quarrels with the Gipsies, our country people, with the exception of a con- 
siderable portion of the land-owners, were, and are even yet rather fond 
of the stiperior families of the nomadic class of these people, than otherwise. 



LANGUAGE. 285 

to the usual test, should she never enter my door again, and, 
as she was walking out of the gate of my garden, I called to 
her, in the Gipsy language, " Jaio vree, managie /" — (go away, 
woman.) She immediately turned round, and, laughing, re- 
plied, " I will jaio with you when I come back, gaugie^' — (I 
will go or speak with you, when I come back, man.) She 
returned, as usual, in December following. I again re- 
quested her to give me some of her words, assuring her that 
she would be in no danger from me on that account. I fur- 
ther told her it was of no use to conceal her speech from me, 
having, the last time she was in my house, shown her that I 
was acquainted with it. After considerable hesitation and 
reluctance, she consented ; but then, she said, she would not 
allow any one in the house to hear her speak to me but my 
wife. I took her at once into my parlour, and, on being 
desired, she, without the least hesitation or embarrassment, 
took the seat next the fire. Observing the door of the room 
a little open, she desired it to be shut, for fear of her being 
overheard, again mentioning that she had no objections to 
my wife being present, and gravely observing that " hus- 
bands and wives were one, and should know all one another's 
secrets." She stated that the public would look upon her 
with horror and contempt," were it known she could speak 
the Gipsy language. She was extremely civil and intelli- 
gent, yet placed me upon a familiar equality with herself, 
when she found I knew of the existence of her speech, and 
could repeat some of the words of it. Her nature, to appear- 
ance, seemed changed. Her bold and fiery disposition was 
softened and subdued. She was very frank and polite ; re- 
tained her self-possession, and spoke with great propriety.* 
The words which I got on this occasion will be found in 
another part of the chapter. 

In corroboration of this principle of concealment observed 
by the Scottish Gipsies, relative to their language, I may 
give a fact which will show how artful they are in avoiding 
any allusion to it. One evening, as a band of potters, with 
a cart of earthenware, were travelling on the high-road, in 
a wild glen in the south of Scotland, a brother of mine over- 

* Their (tlie female's) speecli is as fluent, and tlieir eyes as unabashed, la 
the presence of royalty, as before those from whom they have notliing to 
hope or fear ; the result of which is, that most minds quail before them. — 
Borrow oh the Spanish Gipsies. — Ed. 



286 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

heard them, male and female, conversing in a language, a 
word of which he did not understand. As the road was 
very had, and the night dark, one of the female? of tlie band 
was a few yards in advance of the cart, acting a? a guide to 
the horde. Every now and then, among other unintelligible 
expressions, she called out " Shan drom." My brother's 
curiosity was excited by hearing the potters conversing in 
this manner, and, next morning, he went to where they lodged, 
in an out-house on the farm, and enquired of the female 
what she was saying on the road, the night before, and what 
she meant by " Shan dromJ^ The woman appeared con- 
fused at the unexpected question ; but in a short time re- 
covered her self-possession, and artfully replied that they 
were talking Latin (!) and that " Shan drom,^^ in Latin, 
signified "bad road." But the truth is, ^^ Shan d7vm^^ is 
the Gipsy expression for bad road, as will by and by be seen. 

Besides the difficulties mentioned in the way of getting 
any of their language from them, there is a general one that 
arises from the suspicious, unsettled, restless, fickle and vola- 
tile nature by which they are characterized. It is a rare 
thing to get them to speak consecutively for more than a 
few minutes on any subject, thus precluding the possibility, 
in most instances, of taking advantage of any favourable 
humour in which they may be found, in the matter of their 
general history — leaving alone the formal and serious pro- 
cedure necessary to be followed in regard to their lan- 
guage. If this favourable turn in their disposition is allowed 
to pass, it is rarely anything of that nature can be got from 
them at that meeting ; and it is extremely likely that, at 
any after interviews, they will entirely evade the matter so 
much desired. 

With these remarks, I will now proceed to state the 
method I adopted to get at the Gipsy language. 

Short vocabularies of the language of the Tschengenes of 
Turkey, the Cyganis of Hungary, the Zigeuners of Germany, 
the Gitanos of Spain, and the Gipsies of England, have, at 
different periods, since 1783, issued from the press, in this 
country and in Germany ; but I am not aware of any speci- 
mens of our Scottish Tinkler or Gipsy language having as 
yet been submitted to the public. Some of the former I 
committed to memory, and used, intermixed with English 
words, in questions I would put to the Scottish G ipsies. In this 



LANGUAGE. 287 

way, one word would lead to another. I would address them 
in a confident and familiar manner, as if I were one of tliem- 
selves, and knew exactly who they were, and all about them. 
I would, for instance, ask them : Have jou a grye (horse)? 
How many cliauvies (children) have you ? Where is your 
gaugie (husband) ? Do you sell roys (spoons) ? Being 
taken completely by surprise, they would give me at once a 
true answer. For, being the first, as far as I know, to apply 
the language of the Gipsies of the continent to our own 
tribes, they could naturally have no hesitation in replying to 
my questions ; although they would wonder what kind of a 
Gipsy I could possibly be — dressed, as I was, in black, with 
black neck-^loth, and no display of linen, save a ruffled 
breast, thick-soled shoes and gaiters. The consequence 
was, I became a character of interest to many of the Gipsies 
to be found in a circuit of many miles ; and great wonder 
was excited in their untutored minds, leading to a desire to 
see, and know something of, the Rlali Naiuhen^ or the gen- 
tleman Gipsy. On such occasions, I would treat tliem as I 
would land a fish — give them hook and line enough. But 
the circumstance was to them something incomprehensible, 
for, although Gipsies are very ready-witted, and possess 
great natural resources, in thieving, and playing tricks of 
every kind, and great tact in getting out of difficulties of 
that nature — which, with them, are matters of instinct, train- 
ing, and practice — their whole mind being bent, and exclu- 
sively employed, in that direction, it was almost impossible 
for them to form any intelligible opinion as to my true char- 
acter, provided I was any way discreet in disguising my real 
position among them. As little chance was there of any of 
themselves informing the others of what assistance they had 
inadvertently been to me, in getting at their language. 
Some of them might have an idea that one of their race had, 
in their own way of thinking, peached, turned traitor to 
their blood, and let the cat out of the bag. At times, if they 
happened to see me approach them, so as to have an oppor- 
tunity to scrutinize me — which they are much given to, with 
people generally — they would not be so easily disconcerted 
at any question put to them in their language ; but tlie re- 
salt would be either direct replies, or the most ludicrous 
scenes of surprise and terror imaginable, which, to be en- 
joyed, were only to be seen, but could not be described, 



288 A mSTOBY OF TEE GIPSIES, 

although the sequel will in some measure illustrate them. 
At other times, if I addressed a Gipsy in his own language, 
and spoke to him in a kind and familiar manner, as if I had 
been soothing a wild and unmanageable horse, before mount- 
ing him, he would either very awkwardly pretend not to 
understand what I meant, or, with a downcast and guilty 
look, and subdued voice, immediately answer my Gipsy 
words in English. But if I put the words to him in an ab- 
rupt, hasty, or threatening manner, he would either take to 
his heels, or turn upon me, like a tiger, and pour out upon 
me a torrent of abusive language. The following instances 
will show the manner in which my use of their language wr 
sometimes appreciated by the female Gipsies. 

When I spoke in a sharp manner to some of the old wo- 
men, on the high-road, by way of testing them, they would 
quicken their paces, look over their shoulders, and call out, 
in much bitterness of spirit, "You are no gentleman, sir, 
otherwise you would not insult us in that way." On one 
occasion, I observed a woman with her son, who appeared 
about twelve years of age, lingering near a house at which 
they had no business, and I desired her, rather sharply, to 
leave the place, telling her that I was afraid her chauvie 
was a chor — (that her son was a thief). I used these two 
words merely to see what effect they would have upon her, 
as I did not really think she was a Gipsy. She instantly 
flew into a dreadful passion, telling me that I had been 
among thieves and robbers myself, otherwise I could not 
speak to her in such words as these. She threatened to go 
to Edinburgh, to inform the police that I was the head and 
captain of a band of thieves,* and that she would have me 
immediately apprehended as such. Four sailors who were 
present with me were astonished at the sudden wrath and 
insolence of the woman, as they could not perceive any pro- 
vocation she had received from me — being ignorant of the 
meaning of the words chauvie and c/tor, which I applied to 
her boy. 

One day I fell in by chance, on a lonely part of the old 
public road, on the hills within half a mile of the village of 
North Queensferry, with a woman of about twenty-seven 
years of age, and the mother, as she said, of seven children. 

* This woman evidently mistook our author for a Gipsy gent, such as be 
is described at page 169. — Ed, 



LANGUAGE. 289 

She had light hair, blue eyes, and a fair complexion. The 
youngest of her children appeared to be about nine months 
old, and the eldest about ten years. The mother was dressed 
in a brown cloak, and the group had altogether a very 
squalid appearance. In the most lamentable tone of voice, 
she informed me that her husband had set off with another 
woman, and left her and her seven children to starve ; and 
that he had been lately employed at a paper-mill in Mid- 
Lothian. She sometimes appeared almost to choke with 
grief, but, nevertheless, I observed no tears in her eyes. She 
often repeated, in a sort of hypocritical and canting manner, 
" The Lord has been very kind to me, and will still protect 
me and my helpless babes. Last night we all slept in 
the open fields, and gathered peas and beans from the stub- 
ble for our suppers.'' She certainly seemed to be in very in- 
digent circumstances ; but that her husband had abandoned 
her, I did not credit. However, I gave her a few half-pence, 
for which she thanked me very civilly. From her extrava- 
gant behaviour, and a peculiar wildness in her looks, it oc- 
curred to me that she belonged to the lowest caste of Gipsies, 
although her appearance did not indicate it ; that her grief 
was, for the most part, feigned, and that the story of her 
husband having abandoned her was got up merely to excite 
pity, for the purpose of procuring a little money for the sub- 
sistence of her band. I now put a number of questions to 
her, relative to many individuals whom I knew were Gipsies 
of a superior class, taking care not to call them by that name, 
for fear of alarming lier. I spoke to her as if I had been 
quite intimate with all the persons I was enquiring about. 
She gave me satisfactory answers to almost every question, 
and seemed well acquainted with every individual I named. 
She now appeared quite calm and collected, and answered 
me very gravely. But she said that some of the men I men- 
tioned were rogues, and that their wives played many clever 
tricks. On mentioning the tricks of the wives, I noticed a 
smile come over her countenance. I observed to her that 
they were not faultless, but that they were often blamed for 
crimes of which they were not guilty. Upon perceiving that 
I took their part, which I did on purpose, to hear what she 
would say, she gradually changed her mind, and came over 
to my opinion. She said that they were exceedingly good- 
Learted people, and that some of them had frequently paid 
13 



290 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

a night's lodging for herself and family. I now ventured to 
put a question to her, half in Gipsy and half in English. 
After a short pause and hesitation, she signified that she un- 
derstood what I said. I then asked one or two questions 
in Gipsy words only. A Gipsy, with crockery-ware in a 
basket, happened to pass us at the very moment I was speak- 
ing to her ; and to show her the knowledge I had of her 
speech and people, I said, " There is a nawken^^ — (there is a 
Gipsy.) She, in a very civil and polite manner, immediately 
replied, " Sir, I hope you will not take it ill, when I use the 
freedom of saying that you must have been among the peoj)le 
you are enquiring about, otherwise you could not speak to 
me in that way." To show her that I did not despise her 
for understanding my Gipsy words, I gave her a few pence 
more, and spoke kindly to her. She then became quite 
cheerful and frank, as if we had been old acquaintances. 
Instead of trying to impose upon me, by tales of grief and 
woe, and feigned piety, slie appeared happy and contented, 
her whole conduct indicating that it was useless to play off 
her tricks upon me, as she was now sensible that I knew ex- 
actly wliat she was, and yet did not treat her contemptu- 
ously. She said her husband's name was Wilson, and her 
own Jackson, (the names of two Gipsy tribes ;) that she could 
tell fortunes, and was acquainted with the Irish words I 
spoke, being afraid to call them by their right name. She 
further stated that every one of the people I was enquiring 
about spoke in the same language. 

About half an hour after I parted with her, on the road, 
I met her in the village of North Queensferry, while I was 
walking with a friend. I then put a question to her in 
Gipsy words, in the presence of this third party, who knew 
not what she was, to see how she would conduct herself in 
public. She seemed surprised at my question, as if she did 
not understand a word of it — to prevent it being discovered 
to others of the community that she was a Gipsy. But she 
publicly praised me highly, for having given her something 
to help her poor children ; and, with her trumped-up story 
at her tongue's end, proceeded on her travels. 

These poor people were much alarmed when I let them 
Bee that I knew they were Gipsies. They thought I was 
despising them, and treating them with contempt ; or they 
were afraid of being apprehended under the old sanguinary 



LANGUAGE. 291 

laws, condemning the whole unfortunate race to death ; for 
the Gipsies, as I have already said, still believe that these 
bloody statutes are in full force against them at the present 
day. 

I was advised by Sir "Walter Scott, as mentioned in the 
Introduction, to " get the same words from different individ- 
uals ; and, to verify the collection, to set down the names of 
the persons by whom they were communicated ;" which I 
have done. For this reason, the words now furnished will 
appear as the confessions of so many individuals, rather than 
a vocabulary drawn up in the manner in which such is usu- 
ally done ; and which will be more satisfactory to the gene- 
ral reader, as well as the philologist, than if I had presented 
the words by themselves, without any positive or circum- 
stantial evidence of their genuineness. To the general 
reader, as distiuguished from the philologist, the anecdotes 
connected with the collection may prove interesting, if the 
words themselves have no attraction for him ; while they 
will satisfy the latter, as far as they go, as to the existence 
of a language which has almost always been denied, yet 
which is known, at the present day, to a greater number of 
the population of the country than could at first have been 
imagined ; this part of it having been drawn from a variety 
of individuals, at different and widely-separated times and 
places. On this account, I hope that the minuteness of the 
details of the present enquiry may not appear tedious, but, 
on the contrary, interesting, to my readers generally ; inas- 
much as the present collection is the first, as far as I know, 
of the Scottish Gipsy language that has ever been made ; 
although the people themselves have lived amongst us for 
three hundred and fifty years, and talked it every hour of 
the day, but hardly ever in the hearing of the other inhabit- 
ants, excepting, occasionally, a word of it now and then, to 
disguise their discourse from those around them ; which, on 
being questioned, they have always passed off for cant^ to 
prevent the law taking hold of them, and punishing them 
for being Gipsies. These details will also show that our 
Scottish Tinklers, or Gipsies, are sprung from the common 
stock from which are descended those that are to be found 
in the other parts of Europe, as well as those that are scat- 
tered over the world generally ; wliat secrecy they observe 
in all matters relative to their affairs ; what an extraordi- 



292 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

nary degree of reluctance and fear they evince in answering 
questions tending to develop their history ; and, conse- 
quently, how difficult it is to learn anything satisfactory 
about them.* 

I fell in one day, on the public road, with an old woman 
and her two daughters, of the name of Ross, selling horn 
spoons, made by Andrew Stewart, a Tinkler at Bo'ness. I 
repeated to the woman, in the shape of questions, some of 
the Gipsy words presented in these pages. She at first 
affected, though very awkwardly, not to understand what I 
eaid, but in a few minutes, with some embarrassment in her 
manner, acknowledged that she knew the speech, and gave 
me the English of the following words : 

Gaugie^ man. Gryo,, horse. 

Managie, woman. Grye-femler, horse-dealer. 

Chauvies, children. Hoys^ spoons. 

I observed to this woman, that I saw no harm in speaking 
this language openly and publicly. " None in the least, sir," 
was her reply. 

Two girls, of the name of Jamieson, came one day beg- 
ging to my door. They appeared to be sisters, of about 
eight and seventeen years of age, and were pretty decently 
clothed. Both had light-blue eyes, light-yellow, or rather 
flaxen, hair, and fair complexions. To ascertain whether 
they were Tinklers or not, I put some Gipsy words to the 
eldest girl. She immediately hung down her head, as if she 
had been detected in a crime, and, pretending not to under- 
stand what was said, left the house ; but, after proceeding 
about twelve paces, she took courage, turned round, and, 
with a smile upon an agreeable countenance, called back, 
" There are eleven of us, sir." I had enquired of her how 
many children there were of her family. I called both the 
girls back to my house, and ordered them some victuals, for 
which they were extremely grateful, and seemed much 
pleased that they were kindly treated. After I had dis- 

* It would be well for the reader to consider what a Gipsy is, irrespec- 
tive of the language which he speaks ; for the race comes before the speech 
which it uses. That will be done fully in the Disquisition on the Gipsies. 
The language, considered in itself, however interesting it may be, is a sec 
ondary consideration ; it may ultimately disappear, while the people who 
now speak it will remain. — Ed. 



LANOVAOE. 293 

covered they were Gipsies, I wormed out of tliem tlie fol- 
lowing words : 

Gangie, man. Grye, horse. 

Managie^ woman. Jucal, dog. 

Chattvies, children. 

When I enquired of the eldest girl the English of Jucal, 
Fhe did not, at first, catch the sound of the word ; but her 
little sister looked up in her face, and said to her, " Don't 
you hear ? That is dog. It is dog he means." The other 
then added, with a downcast look, and a melancholy tone 
of voice, " You gentlemen understand all languages now- 
a-days." 

At another time, four or five children were loitering about, 
and diverting themselves, before the door of a house, near 
Inverkeithing. The youngest appeared about five, and the 
eldest p.bout thirteen years of age. One of the boys, of the 
name of McDonald, stepped forward, and asked some money 
from me in charity. From his importunate manner of beg- 
ging, I suspected the children were Gipsies, although their 
appearance did not indicate them to be of that race. After 
some questions put to them about their parents and their 
occupations, they gave me the English of the following 
words : 

Gaugie^ man. Aizel^ ass. 

Chauvies, children. Lowa, silver. 

Miah, gentleman. Chor, thief. 

Grye, horse. Siaitrdie, prison. 

Jucal, dog. Bingy the devil. 

A gentleman, an acquaintance of mine, was in my presence 
while the children were answering my words ; and as the 
subject of their language was new to him, I made some re- 
marks to him in their hearing, relative to their tribe, which 
greatly displeased them. One of the boys called out to me, 
with much bitterness of expression, " You are a Gipsy your- 
self, sir, or you never could have got these words." 

Some years since, a female, of the name of Ruthven, was 
in the habit of calling at a farm occupied by one of my 
brothers. My mother, being interested about the Gipsies, 
began, on one occasion, to question tliis female Tinkler, rela- 
tive to her tribe, and, among other things, asked if she was 



294 A HIST OUT OF THE GIPSIES. 

a Gipsy. " Yes," replied Ruthven, "I am a Gipsy, and a 
desperate, murdering race we are. I will let you hear me 
speak our language, but what the better will you be of 
that T She accordingly uttered a few sentences, and then 
said, " Now, are you any the wiser of what you have heard ? 
But that infant," pointing to her child of about five years of 
age, " understands every word I speak." " I know," con- 
tinued the Tinkler, " that the public are trying to find out 
the secrets of the Gipsies, but it is in vain." This woman 
further stated that her tribe would be exceedingly dis- 
pleased, were it known that any of their fraternity taught 
their language to " strangers."* She also mentioned that the 
Gipsies believe that the laws which were enacted for their 
extirpation were yet in full force against them. I may men- 
tion, however, that she could put confidence in the family in 
whose house she made these confessions. 

On another occasion, a female, with tliree or four children, 
the eldest of whom was not above ten years of age, came 
up to me while speaking to an innkeeper, on a public pier 
on the banks of the Forth. She stated to us that her prop- 
erty had been burned to the ground, and her family reduced 
to beggary, and solicited charity of us both. After receiv- 
ing a few half-pence from the innkeeper, she continued her 
importunities with an unusual impertinence, and hung upon 
me for a contribution. Her barefaced conduct displeased 
me. I thought I would put her to the test, and try if she 
was not a Gipsy. Deepening the tone of my voice, I called 
out to her, in an angry manner, " Sallah, jaiv drojii'^ — 
(*• Curse you, take the road.") The woman instantly wheeled 
about, uttered not another word, but set off, with precipita- 
tion ; and so alarmed were her children, that they took hold 
of her clothes, to hasten and pull her out of my presence ; 
calling to her, at the same time, " Mother, mother, come 
away." Mine host, the innkeeper, was amazed at the effec- 
tual manner in which I silenced and dismissed the impor- 
tunate and troublesome beggars. He was anxious that I 

* The Gipsies are always afraid to say what they would do in such cases. 
Perhaps they don't know, but have only a general impression that the in- 
dividual would " catch it ;" or there may be some old law on the subject. 
"What Ruthven said of her's being a desperate race is true enough, and 
murderous too, among themselves as distinguished from the inhabitants 
g-enerally. Her remark was evidently part of that frightening policy which 
keeps the natives from molesting the tribe. See page 44. — Ed. 



LANGUAGE. 



295 



should teach him the unknown words that had so terrified 
the poor Gipsies ; with the design, it appeared to me, of 
friglitening others, should they molest him with their beg- 
ging. Had I not proved this family by the language, it was 
impossible for any one to perceive that the group were 
Gipsies. 

In prosecuting my enquiries into the existence of the 
Gipsy language, I paid a visit to Lochgcllie, once the resi- 
dence of four or five families of Gipsies, as already men- 
tioned, and procured an interview with young Andrew 
Steedman, a member of the tribe. At first, he appeared 
much alarmed, and seemed to tliink I had a design to do 
him harm. His fears, however, were in a short while 
calmed ; and, after much reluctance, he gave me the follow- 
ing words and expressions, with the corresponding English 
significations. Like a true Gipsy, the first expression which 
he uttered, as if it came the readiest to him, was, " Choar a 
chauvie^^ — (" rob that person,") which he pronounced with a 
smile on his countenance. 



Gaugie^ man. 

Govrie, man. 

Managie^ woman. 

Chauvie, a person of either 

sex. 
Chauviefi, children. 
Been gangie, gentleman. 
£een goitrie, gentleman. 
JRajah, a chief, governor. 
Baurie rajah^ the king. 
Greham^ horse. 
Grye^ horse. 
Seefei\ ass. 
Jucal^ dog. 
Mvjier, cat. 
Sloof^ sheej). 
Baskanie, cock. 
Caiinie, hen. 
Borlan, sun. 
Mang^ moon. 
Gaff, fire. 
Gar Ian, ship. 
Heejie, spoon. 



Keechan, knife. 

Chowrie, knife. 

Scaf, hat. 

Masa, flesh. 

Mass, hand. 

Bar, money. 

Lowie, coin or money. 

Roug, silver. 

Neel, shilling. 

Deek, to listen. 

Chee, tongue. 

Chee chee, hold your tongue. 

Chor, thief. 

Choar, to steal. 

Quad, prison. 

Moolie, death. 

Moolie, I'll kill you. 

Bing, the devil. 

Bing feck, devil take yon. 

Bing feck eelreelee, devil take 
your soul. 

Choar a chauvie, rob that per- 
son. 



296 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

Choar a gaugie^ steal from that Glowie a Iowa, pay him the 
man. money. 

Cheeteromanie, a dram of whis- 
key. 

The first expression which the Gipsies use in saluting one 
another, when they first meet, anywhere, is ^^Auteenie, au- 
teenie.^^ Steedman, however, did not give me the English 
of this salutation. He stated to me that, at the present day, 
the Gipsies in Scotland, when by themselves, transact their 
business in their own language, and hold all their ordinary 
conversations in the same speech. In the course of a few 
minutes, Steedman's fears returned upon him. He appeared 
to regret what he had done. He now said he had forgotten 
the language, and referred me to his father, old Andrew 
Steedman, who, he said, would give me every information I 
might require. I imprudently sent him out, to bring the old 
man to me ; for, when both returned, all further communica- 
tion, with regard to their speech, was at an end. Both 
were now dead silent on the subject, denied all knowledge 
of the Gipsy language, and were evidently under great 
alarm. The old man would not face me at all ; and when I 
went to him, he appeared to be shaking and trembling, while 
he stood at the head of his horses, in his own stable. Young 
Steedman entreated me to tell no one that he had given me 
any words, as the Tinklers, he said, would be exceedingly 
displeased with him for doing so. This man, however, by 
being kindly treated, and seeing no intention of doing him 
any harm, became, at an after period, communicative on 
various subjects relative to the Gipsies. 

The following are the words which I obtained during an 
hour's interrogation of the woman that baffled me for seven 
years, and of wliom I have said something already : 

Gaugie, man. JVais gaugie, grandfiither. 

Chauvie, child. Been riah, gentleman. 

Mori, wife. Been raunie, gentlewoman. 

Shan mori, bad wife. Bill, servant-maid. 

Blaivkie, pot. Loudnie, whore. 

Roys, spoons, Chor, thief. 

Snypers, shears. Gaivvers, pickpockets. 

Fluffs tobacco-pipe. Nawkens, Tinklers. 

Baurie mort, good wife. BachUn, hanged man. 

Nais mort, grandmother. Klistie, soldier. 



LANGUAGE. 



297 



Paiinie-col, sailor. 

Femmel, hand. 

Yak, eye. 

Sherro, head. 

Mooie, mouth. 

Chatters, teeth. 

Rat, blood. 

Rat, night. 

Moo lie, death, to die, kill. 

Shucha, coat. 

Teeyakas, shoes. 

Gawd, shirt. 

Olivers, stockings. 

Wiper, napkin, 

Coories, blankets. 

Grye, horse. 

Aizel, ass. 

Jucal, dog. 

Routler, cow. 

BaJcra, sheep. 

Kair, house. 

Blinker, window. 

Kep, bed. 

Fluffan, tobacco. 

Lowie, money. 

Roug, silver. 

Leel, bank notes. 

Casties, trees. 

Quad, prison. 

I observed to this woman that her language would, in 
course of time, be lost. She replied, with great seriousness, 
^* It will never be forgotten, sir ; it is in our hearts, and 
as long as a single Tinkler exists, it will be remembered." 
I further enquired of her, how many of her tribe were in 
Scotland. Her answer was, " There are several thousand ; 
and there are many respectable shop-keepers and house- 
holders in Scotland that are Gipsies." I requested of this 
woman the Gipsy word for God."^ She said they had no 

* Ponqueville, in his travels, says that the Gipsies in the Levant liave 
no words in their language to express eitlier God or tlie soul. Of ten 
words of the Greek Gipsy, given by him, five of theiu are in use in Scot- 
land.— P^m, 18-20. 

[The Gipsy for God, according to Grellinann, is Dtwe, Dewel, Dcwol, 
D4ivla.]—ED. 

13* 



Harro, sword. 

Chourie, bayonet-knife. 

Mass, meat, flesh. 

Guffie, swine's flesh. 

Flatrins, fish. 

Habben, bread. 

Blaw, meal. 

Neddies, potatoes. 

Thood, milk. 

Smout, butter. 

Chizcazin, cheese. 

Bobies, peas. 

Pooklie, pot-barley. 

Shaucha, broth. 

Geeve, corn, wheat, grain. 

Faizim, hay. 

Stramel, straw. 

Paunie, water. 

Yak, coal. 

Mouds, peats. 

Shan drom, bad road. 

Beenlightment, daylight. 

Jaw vree, go away. 

Aucheer mangan, hold your 

tongue. 
Bing lee ma, devil miss me. 
Ruffie feck ma,, devil take me, 
Bvffie lee ma, devil miss me. 



298 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

corresponding -word for God in their speech ; adding, that 
she thought *' it as well, as it prevented them having their 
Maker's name often unnecessarily and sinfully in their 
mouths/' She acknowledged the justice, and highly ap- 
proved of the punishment of death for murder ; but she 
condemned, most bitterly, the law that took away the lives 
of human beings for stealing. She dwelt on the advantages 
which her secret speech gave her tribe in transacting busi- 
ness in markets. She said that she was descended from the 
first Gipsy family in Scotland. I was satisfied that she was 
sprung from the second, if not the first, family. I could 
make out, with tolerable certainty, the links of her descent 
for four generations of Gipsies. I have already described 
the splendid style in which her ancestors travelled in Tweed- 
dale. Her mother, above eighty years of age, also called 
at my house. Both were fortune-tellers. It was evident, 
from this woman's manner, that she knew much she would 
not communicate. Like the Gipsy chief, in presence of Dr. 
Bright, at Csurgo, in Hungary, she, in a short time, became 
impatient ; and, apparently, when a certain hour arrived, she 
insisted upon being allowed to depart. She would not sub- 
mit to be questioned any longer. 

Owing to the nature of my enquiries, and more particu- 
larly the fears of the tribe, I could seldom venture to ques- 
tion the Gipsies regarding their speecli, or their ancient 
customs, with any hope of receiving satisfactory answers, 
when a third party was present. The following, however, 
is an instance to the contrary ; and the facts witnessed by 
the gentleman who was with me at the time, are, besides 
the testimony of the Gipsies themselves, convincing proofs 
that these people, at the present day, in Scotland, can con- 
verse among themselves, on any ordinary subject, in their 
own language, without making use of a single word of the 
English tongue."^ 

In May, 1829, while near theManse of Inverkeithing, my 
friend and I accidentally fell in, on the high road, with four 
children, the youngest of whom appeared to be about four, 

* Had a German listened a whole day to a Gipsy conversation, he would 
not have understood a single expression. — Grellmann. 

The dialect of the English Gipsies, though mixed with English, is toler- 
ably pure, from the fact of its being intelligible to the race in the centre of 
Russia. — Borrow. — Ed. 



LANGUAGE. ■ 299 

and the eldest about thirteen, years of age. They were accom- 
panied by a woman, about twenty years old, wlio had the 
appearance of being married, but not the mother of any of 
the children with her. Not one of the whole party could 
have been taken for a Gipsy, but all had the exact appearance 
of being the family of some indigent tradesman or labourer. 
Excepting the woman, whose hair was dark, all of the com- 
pany had hair of a liglit colour, some of them inclining to 
yellow, with fair complexions. In not one of their counte- 
nances could be seen those features by which many pretend 
tlie Gipsies can, at all times, be distinguished from the rest 
of the community. The manner, however, in which the 
woman, at first, addressed me, created in my mind a suspicion 
that she was one of the tribe. In order to ascertain the 
fact, I put a question to her in Gipsy, in such a manner that 
it might appear to her that I was quite certain she was one 
of the fraternity. She immediately smiled at my question, 
held down her head, cast her eyes to the ground, then ap- 
peared as if she had been detected in something wrong, and 
pretended not to understand what I said. One of the chil- 
dren, however, being thrown entirely off his guard, imme- 
diately said to her, " You know quite well what he says." 
Tlie woman, recovering from her surprise and confusion, and 
being assured she had nothing to fear from me, now answered 
my question. She also replied to every other interrogation 
I put to her, without showing the least fear or hesitation. 
After I had repeated a few words more, and a sentence in 
the Gipsy tongue, one of tlie boys exclaimed, " He has good 
cant !" and then addressed me entirely in the Gipsy language. 
(All the Gipsies, as I have already mentioned, call their lan- 
guage cant^ for the purpose of concealing tlieir tribe.) The 
whole party seemed extremely happy that I was acquainted 
with their speech. The woman put several questions to me, 
in return, some of which were wholly in her own peculiar 
tongue. She asked my name, place of residence, and whether 
I was a naiclcen — that is a Gipsy. She further enquired 
whether my friend was also a nawlcen ; adding, with a smile, 
that she was sure I was a tram/per. The children some- 
times conversed among themselves wholly in tlieir own lan- 
guage ; and, when I could not understand the woman, as 
she requested, in her own speech, to know my name, &c., 
one of them instantly interpreted the sentence into Englis|i 



800 



A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 



for me. One of tlie oldest boys, however, thinking I was 
only pretending to be ignorant of their speech, observed, in 
English, to his companions, " I am sure he is a tramper, and 
can speak as good cant as any of us." To keep up the char- 
acter, my friend told them that I had been a tramper in my 
youth, but that I had now nearly lost the language. On 
hearing this, the woman, with great earnestness, exclaimed, 
" God bless the gentleman !'^ In order to confirm their be- 
lief that I was one of their tribe, I bade the woman good- 
day in her own tongue, and parted with them. She informed 
me, on leaving, that she resided at Banff, but that her hus- 
band was then at Perth. 

During the short interview which I had with these Gipsies, 
I collected the following words : 



Gaugie^ man. 

Riah, gentleman. 

Raunie^ lady. 

Vast, hand. 

Sonnakie, gold. 

JSonnakie vanisier, gold ring. 

Roug, silver. 

Lowie, money. 

Grye, horse. 

Aizel, ass. 

Jucal, dog. 

Matchka^ cat. 

Raurie, great. 

Vile, village. 



Raurie vile, large village. 

Nawken^ Gipsy. 

Ravies, day. 

Reenship davies^ Nawken^ good- 
day, Gipsy. 

Pen yer naam ? what is your 
name ? 

Skucha, coat. 

Calshes, breeches. 

Gogle, hat. 

Coories, blankets. 

Roys, spoons. 

Skews, platters. 

Hahben kairer, baker of bread. 



The method I adopted with theta, as I have already 
hinted, was to ask them the English of the words I gave 
them in Gipsy, so that the answers I got were confirmations 
of the same words collected from other individuals, and 
which I drew from memory for the occasion. Had I at- 
tempted to write down any of their sentences, it would have 
instantly shut the door to all further conversation on the 
subject, and, in all probability, the Gipsies would have taken 
to their heels, muttering imprecations against me for having 
insulted them. Of this I was satisfied, that had I really been 
acquainted with their speech, these Gipsy children could 
have kept up a regular and connected conversation with me, 
with the greatest fluency, and without their sentences being 



LANGVAQE. 301 

intermixed with any English or Scotch words whatever, a 
fact which has been repeatedly stated to me by the Gipsies. 

In confirmation of these facts, I shall transcribe a letter 
addressed to me by the gentleman who was present on the 
occasion.* 

Inverkeithing, 25^A May^ 1829. 
" My Dear Sir : 

" Agreeably to your desire, I have looked over that part 
of your manuscript of the Scottish Gipsies which details the 
particulars of a short and accidental interview which we 
had with a woman and four children, wliom we met near 
Inverkeithing Manse, on the 22d inst., and who turned out 
to be Gipsies. I have no hesitation in averring that your 
statements, to my knowledge, are substantially correct — ■ 
being present during the whole conversation which took 

flace with tlie individuals mentioned. It was the first time 
ever heard the Gipsy language spoken, and it appeared 
quite evident that those Gipsies could converse, in a regular 
and connected manner, on any subject, without making use 
of a single English word ; and which particularly appeared 
from the questions which they put to you, as well as from 
the conversation which they had among themselves, in their 
own peculiar speech : and that, otherwise, the woman and 
children had not, in the colour of their hair, complexion, and 
general appearance, any resemblance to those people whom 
I always considered to be Gipsies. I am, &c., 

"JAMES H. COBBAN, 
Deputy Comjpt. of Customs^ Inverkeithing, 
*• Mr. Walter Simson, 

Supt. of Quarantine^ Inverlceithingy\ 

I have already mentioned having succeeded in obtaining 

* This letter is interesting to the extent that it illustrates the amount of 
knowledge possessed by the Scottish community, generally, regarding the 
subject of the Gipsies. — Ed. 

•j- Sir Walter Scott was disposed to think that our Gipsy population was 
rather exaggerated at five thousand souls; but when families such as tlie 
above mentioned are taken into account — leaving alone those who may be 
classed as settled Gipsies — I am convinced that their number is not over- 
estimated, 

[Not being in possession of sufficient information on the subject of the 
Gipsies, the opinion of Sir Walter Scott, on the point in question, amounted 
to nothing. See the Index, for'Sir Walter Scott's ideas of the Scottish 
Gipsy population. — Eu.] 



302 A mSTOEY OF THE GIPSIES. 

a few words of Gipsy, from two sisters, of the name of Jamie- 
son, who came begging to my door. I had reason to su}> 
pose they would acquaint their relatives of having been 
questioned in their own speech, and would greatly exaggerate 
my knowledge of it ; for I always observed that the individ- 
uals with whom I conversed were at first impressed with a 
belief that I knew much more of it than I really did. 

During the following summer, a brother and a cousin of 
these girls called at my house, selling baskets. The one 
was about twenty-one, the other fifteen, years of age. I 
happened to be from home, but one of my family, suspecting 
them to be Gipsies, invited them into the house, and men- 
tioned to them, (although very incorrectly,) that I miderstood 
every word of their speech. " So I saw," replied the eldest 
lad, " for when he passed us on the road, some time ago, I 
called, in our language, to my neighbour, to come out of tlie 
way, and he understood what I said, for he immediately 
turned round, and looked at us." I, however, knew nothing 
of the circumstance ; I did not even recollect having seen 
them pass me. It is likely, however, I had been examining 
their appearance, and it is as likely they had been trying if 
I understood their speech. At all events, they appeared to 
have known me, while I was entirely ignorant of who they 
were, and to have had their curiosity excited, on account, as 
I imagined, of their relatives having told them I was ac- 
quainted with their language. This occurrence produced a 
wonderful effect upon the two lads, for they appeared pleased 
to think I could speak their language. At this moment, one 
of my daughters, about seven years of age, repeated, in their 
hearing, the Gipsy word for pot, having picked it up from 
hearing me mention it. The young Tinklers now thought 
they were in the midst of a Gipsy family, and seemed quite 
happy. '^ But are you really a naivken .^" I asked the eld- 
est of them. " Yes, sir," he replied ; " and to show you 
I am no impostor, I will give you the names of everything 
in your house ;" which, in the presence of my family, he 
did, to the extent I asked of him. " My speech," he contin- 
ued, " is not the cant of packmen, nor the slang of common 
thieves." 

But Gipsy-hunting is like deer-stalking. In prosecuting 
it, it is necessary to know the 9,nimal, its habits, and the 
locality in which it is to be found. I saw the unfavourable 



LANGUAGE. 303 

turn approacliing : the Gipsies' time was up ; their patience 
was exhausted. I dropped the subject, and ordered them 
some refreshment. On their taking leave of me, I said to 
them, " D*^ you intend coming round this part of the country 
again ?" (I need not have asked tliem such a question as 
that.) " That we do, sir ; and we will not fail to come and 
see you again." They thus left me, with the strong impres- 
sion on their minds, that I was a naivlzen, like themselves, 
but a riah — a gentleman Gipsy. I waited patiently for 
their return, which would happen in due season, on their 
half-yearly tramp. Everything looked so favourably, cir- 
cumstances had contributed so fortunately, to the end which 
I had so much at heart, that I looked upon the information 
to be drawn from these poor Tinkler lads, with as much 
solicitude and avarice as one would who had discovered a 
treasure hid in his field. 

This species of Gipsy-hunting, I believe, I had exclusively 
to myself. I had none of the difficulties to contend with, 
which would be implied in the field of it having been gone 
over by others before me. That kind of Gipsy-hunting 
wliich implied imprisonment, banishment, and hanging, was 
a thing of which the Gipsies had had sad experience ; if not 
in their own persons, at least in that which the traditions 
of their tribe had so carefully handed down to them. Be- 
sides this, the experience of the daily life of the members 
of their tribe afforded an excellent school of training, for 
acquiring a host of expedients for escaping every danger 
and difficulty to which their habits exposed them. But so 
thorouglily had tliey preserved their secrets, and especially 
the grand one — their language — that they came to their 
wits' end how to understand, and how to act in, the new 
sphere of danger into which they were now thrown, or even 
to comprehend its nature. Such was tlie advantage which 
education and enlightenment had given their civilized neigh- 
bour over them. How could tliey imagine that the com- 
mencement of my knowledge of their language had been 
drawn from hooks ? What did some of them know of hooks, 
beyond, perhaps, a youth sent to school, where, owing to his 
restless and unsettled good-for-nothingness, lie would advance 
little beyond his alphabet ?* For we know that some Gip- 

* In speaking of the more original kind of Gipsy, Grellmann says : " No 
Gipsy has ever signalized himself in literature, notwithstanding many of 



304 A HIS TOBY OF THE 0IPSIE8. 

sies are so intensely vain as to send a child to school, merely 
to brag before their civilized neighbours that their children 
have been educated. How could they comprehend tliat 
their language had found, or could find, its way into hoohs ? 
The thing to them was impossible ; the idea of it could 
not, by any exertion of their own, even enter into their 
imagination. The danger to arise from such a quarter was 
altogether beyond their capacity of comprehension. Know- 
ing, however, that there was danger of some singular na- 
ture surrounding them, yet being unable to comprehend it, 
they flickered about it, like moths about a candle ; till at 
last they did come to comprehend, if not its origin, or ex- 
tent, at least its tendency, and the consequences to which it 
would lead. 

According to promise, the eldest of the Gipsy boys called 
at my house, in about six months, accompanied by his sister. 
He was selling white-iron ware, for he was a tin-smith by 
occupation. Without entering into any preliminary conver- 
sation, for the purpose of smoothing the way for more direct 
questions, I took him into my parlour, and at once enquired 
if he could speak the Tinkler language ? He applied to my 
question the construction that I doubted if he could, and the 
consequences which that would imply, and answered firmly, 
*' Yes, sir ; I have been bred in that line all my life." " Will 
you allow me," said I, " to write down your words ?" " yes, 
sir ; you are welcome to as many as you please." " Have you 
names for everything, and can you converse on any subject, 
in that language ?" " Yes, sir ; we can converse, and have a 
name for everything, in our own speech." I now commenced 
to " make hay while the sun shone," as the phrase runs ; for 
I knew that I could have only about an hour with the Gipsy, 

them have partaken of the instruction to be obtained at public schools. 
Their volatile disposition and unsteadiness will not allow them to complete 
anything which requires perseverance or application. In the midst of his 
career of learning, the recollection of his origin seizes him ; he desires to 
return to what he thinks a more happy manner of life ; this solicitude in- 
creases ; he gives up all at once, turns back again, and consigns over his 
knowledge to oblivion." 

There are too many circumstances surrounding such a Gipsy to remind 
him of his origin, and arrest him in his career of learning : for his race 
never having been tolerated — that is, no position ever having been assigned 
it, he feels as if he were a vagabond, if known or openlj' avowed to the 
public as a member of the tribe. And this, in itself, is sufficient to dis- 
courage such a Gipsy in every effort towards improvement. — Ed. 



LANGUAGE. 



805 



at the most. The following, then, are the words and sen- 
tences which I took down, on this occasion : 

Sherro, head. 

Carlie, neck. 

Lea7's, ears. 

Ohailers, teeth, 

Yak, eye. 

Nak, nose. 

Mooie, mouth. 

Vast, hand. 

Jaur, leg. 

])^ek, knee. 

Peerie, foot. 

Bar, stone. 

Drom, the earth. 

Cang-geerie, church. 

Sonnakie, gold. 

Sonnakie vanister, gold ring. 

Callo, black. 

Callo gaugie, black man. 

Leehgli callo, blue. 

Sneepa, white, snow. 

Sheelra, cold, frost. 

Lo7i, salt. 

Lon paunie, the sea, salt water. 

Rat, night. 

Rat, blood. 

Habben kairer, baker of bread. 

Aizel, ass. 

Gourniey cow. 

Jucal, dog. 

Paupeenie, goose. 

Caiinie, hen. 

Boord, penny. 

(Jvrdie, half-penny. 

Lee, miss. 

Ruffie feck ma, devil take me. 

Raffie lee ma, devil miss me. 

Feck a bar and mar the gaugie, 

lift a stone and fell the man. 
Chee, chee, silence, hold your 

tongue. 
Auvie, come here. 
Jaw vree, go away. 



Slaps, tea. 

Moozies, porridge. 

Mass, flesh. 

ShaKcha, broth. 

Mujnlie, candle. 

Stramel, straw. 

Parnie, wheat. 

Buff^ smoke. 

Yak, fire. 

Wnther, door. 

Glue, window. 

Kair, house. 

Shucha, coat. 

Shuch-kamie, waistcoat. 

Castle, stick. 

Coories, blankets. 

Eegees, bed-clothes. 

Wautheriz, bed. 

Suchira, sixpence. 

Sge-boord. sixpence. 

Chinda, shilling. 

Chinda ochindies, twelve shil- 
lings. 

Trin chindies, three shillings. 

Baurie, grand, great, good. 

Shan, bad. 

Bavies-pagrin, daybreak. 

Baurie davies, good day. 

Shan davies, bad day. 

Paunie davies, wet day. 

Sheelra davies^ frosty or cold 
day. 

Sneepa davies, snowy or white 
day. 

Baurie forest, the chief city. 

Baurie paunie, the sea, ocean, 
grand water. 

Bing, the devil. 

Ruffie, the devil. 

Feck, take. 

Chauvies wautheriz, the chil- 
dren's bed-clothes. 



306 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

Jaio vree wautheriz, go away to Nawlcen^ Tinkler, Gipsy. 



your bed. 


Cam, the moon. 


Baish doun, sit down. 


Quad, prison. 


JBaish doun bettiment, sit down 


Staurdie, prison. 


on the chair. 


Yaik, one. 


Howie been baishen ? how are 


Duie, two. 


you? 


Trin, three. 


Biah^ gentleman. 


Tor, four. 


Raunie^ gentlewoman. 


Fo, five. 


Baurie riah, king. 


Shaigh, six. 


Baurie raimie, queen. 


Naivairn, seven. 


Praw, son. 


Naigh, eight. 


Prawl, daughter. 


Line, nine. 


Yaggers, colliers. 


Nay, ten. 



This young man sang part of two Gipsy songs to me, in 
English ; and then, at my request, he turned one of them 
into the Gipsy language, intermingled a little, however, 
with English words ; occasioned, perhaps, by the difficulty 
in translating it. The subject of one of the songs was that 
of celebrating a robbery, committed upon a Lord Shandos ; 
and the subject of the other was a description of a Gipsy 
battle. The courage with which the females stood the rattle 
of the cudgels upon their heads was much lauded in the song. 
Like the Gipsy woman with whom I had no less than seven 
years' trouble ere getting any of her speech, this Gipsy lad 
became, in about an hour's time, very restless, and impatient 
to be gone. The true state of things, in this instance, 
dawned upon his mind. He now became much alarmed, and 
would neither allow me to write down his songs, nor stop 
to give me any more of his words and sentences. His 
terror was only exceeded by his mortification ; and, on part- 
ing with me, he said that, had he, at first, been aware I was 
unacquainted with his speech, he would not have given me 
a word of it. 

As far as I can judge, from the few and short specimens 
which I have myself heard, and had reported to me, the 
subjects of the songs of the Scottish Gipsies, (I mean those 
composed by themselves,) are chiefly their plunderings, their 
robberies, and their sufferings. The numerous and deadly 
conflicts which they had among themselves, also, afforded 
them themes for the exercise of their muse. My father, in 
his youth, often heard them singing songs, wholly in their 



LANGUAGE. r.07 

own language. Thev appear to have been very fond of our 
ancient Border marauding songs, which celebrate the daring 
exploits of the lawless freebooters on the frontiers of Scot- 
land and England. They were constantly singing these com- 
positions among themselves. The song composed on Hughie 
Graeme, the horse-stealer, published in the second volume of 
Sir Walter Scott's Border Minstrelsy, was a great favourite 
with the Tinklers. As this song is completely to the taste 
of a Gipsy, I will insert it in this place, as affording a 
good specimen of that description of song in the singing of 
which they take great delight. It will also serve to show 
the peculiar cast of mind of the Gipsies. 

HUGHIE THE GR^ME. 

GuDE Lord Scroope's to the hunting gane, 

He has ridden o'er moss and muir; 
And he has grippit Hughie the Graeme, 

For stealing o' the Bishop's mare. 

" Now, good Lord Scroope, this may not be ! 
Here hangs a broadsword by my side ; 
And if that thou canst conquer me. 
The matter it may soon be tryed." 

"I ne'er was afraid of a traitor-thief; 

Although thy name be Hughie the Graeme, 
I'll make thee repent thee of thy deeds. 
If God but grant me life and time." 

" Then do your worst now, good Lord Scroope, 
And deal your blows as hard as you can ! 
It shall be tried, within an hour. 
Which of us two is the better man." 

But as they were dealing their blows so free, 

And both so bloody at the time. 
Over the moss came ten yeomen so tall, 

All for to take brave Hughie the Graeme. 

Then they hae grippit Hughie the Graeme, 
And brought him up through Carlisle town ; 

The lasses and lads stood on the walls, 

Crying, " Hughie the Graeme, thou'se ne'er gae down." 

Then hae they chosen a jury of men, 

The best that were in Carlisle town ; 
And twelve of them cried out at once, 
" Hughie the Graeme, thou must gae down." 



808 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

Then up bespak him gude Lord Hume, 
As he sat bj the judge's knee, — 
" Twenty white owsen, my gude lord, 

If you'll grant Hughie the Graeme to me." 

" O no, no, my gude Lord Hume ! 
For sooth and sae it manna be ; 
For, were there but three Graemes of the name, 
They suld be hanged a' for me." 

'Twas up and spake the gude Lady Hume, 
As she sat by the judge's knee, — 
"A peck of white pennies, my gude lord judge, 
If you'll grant Hughie the Graeme to me." 

" O no, O no, my gude Lady Hume ! 
For sooth and so it must na be ; 
Were he but the one Graeme of the name, 
He suld be hanged high for me." 



.'» 



" If I be guilty," said Hughie the Graeme, 
" Of me my friends shall have small talk 
And he has louped fifteen feet and three. 
Though his hands they were tied behind his ba(;k. 

He looked over his left shoulder. 

And for to see what he might see ; 
There was he aware of his auld father, 

Came tearing his hair most piteouslie. 

" O ! hald your tongue, my father," he says, 
" And see that ye dinna weep for me ! 
For they may ravish me o' my life. 

But they canna banish me fro Heavin hie. 

" Fare ye weel, fair Maggie, my wife ! 
The last time we came ower the muir, 
'Twas thou bereft me of my life. 
And wi' the Bishop thou play'd the whore. 

" Here, Johnie Armstrang, take thou my sword, 
That is made o' the metal sae fine ; 
And when thou comest to the English side, 
Remember the death of Hughie the Graeme."* 

* On mentioning to Sir Walter Scott, when at Abbotsford, that the Gip- 
sies were very partial to Hughie the Graeme, he caused his eldest daughter, 
afterwards Mrs. Lockhart, to sing this ancient Border song, which she 
readily did, accorapanjang her voice with the harp. We were, at the time, 
in the room which contained his old armour and other antiquities ; to which 
place he had asked me, after tea, to hear his daughter play on the harp. 



LANGUAGE. 309 

I will now give the testimony of the Gipsy chief from 
whom I received the " blowing up" alluded to, hj Mr. Laid- 
law, in the Introduction to the work.* 

One of the greatest fairs in Scotland is held, annually, on 
the 18th day of July, at St. BoswelFs Green, in Roxburgh- 
shire. I paid a visit to this fair, for the purpose of taking 
a view of the Gipsies. An acquaintance, whom I met at 
the fair, observed to me, that he was sure if any one could 
give me information regarding the Tinklers, it would be old 

, the horner, at . To ensure a kind reception from 

the Gipsies, it was agreed upon, between us, that I should 
introduce myself by mentioning who my ancestors were, on 
whose numerous farms, (sixteen, rented by my grandfather, 
in 1781, t) their forefathers had received many a night's 
quarters, in their out-houses. We soon found out the old 
chieftain, sitting in a tent, in the midst of about a dozen of 
his tribe, all nearly related to him. The moment I made 
myself known to them, the whole of the old persons imme- 
diately expressed their gratitude for the humane treatment 
they, and their forefathers, had received at the farms of my 
relatives. They were extremely glad to see me ; and " God 
bless you," was repeated by several of the old females. "Ay," 
said they, " those days are gone. Christian charity has now 
left the land. We know the people growing more hard 
and uncharitable every year." I found the old man shrewd, 
sensible, and intelligent ; far beyond what could have been 
expected from a person of his caste and station in life. He, 
besides, possessed all that merriness and jocularity which I 

She sang Hughie the Graeme, in a plain, simple, unaffected manner, exactly 
in the style in which I have heard the humble country-girls singing tho 
same song, in the south of Scotland. Sir Walter was much interested about 
the Gipsies; and when I repeated to him a short sentence in their speech, 
he, with great feeling, exclaimed, " Poor things ! do you hear that ?" This 
was the first time, I believe, that he ever heard a Scottish Gipsy word 
pronounced. It appeared to me that the mind of the great magician was 
not wholly divested of the fear that the Gipsies might, in some way or 
other, injure his young plantations. 

* See pages 58 and 65. — Ed. 

f These sixteen farms embraced about 25,000 acres of mountainous land, 
and maintained 13,0()0 sheep, 100 goats, 250 cattle, 50 horses, 20 draught- 
oxen, and 60 dogs ; 29 shepherds, 26 other servants, and 16 cotters, making, 
with their families, 228 souls, supported by my ancestor's property, as that 
of a Scotch gentleman-farmer. On the farms mentioned, which lay in Mid- 
Lothian, Tweed-dale, and Selkirkshire, the Gipsies were allowed to remain 
as long as they pleased ; and no loss was ever sustained by the indulgence. 



310 A BISTORT OF THE GIPSIES. 

have often observed among a number of the males of his 
race. After some conversation with tliis chief, who appeared 
about eighty years of age, I enquired if his people, avIio, in 
large bands, about sixty years ago, traversed the south of 
Scotland, had not an ancient language, peculiar to them- 
selves. He hesitated a little, and then readily replied, that 
the Tinklers had no language of their own, except a few 
cant words. I observed to him that he knew better — that 
the Tinklers had, beyond dispute, a language of their own ; 
and that I had some knowledge of its existence at the pres- 
ent day. He, however, declared that they had no sucli lan- 
guage, and that I was wrongly informed. In the heariug 
of all the Gipsies in the tent, I repeated to him four or five 
Gipsy words and expressions. At this he appeared amazed ; 
and on my adding some particulars relative to some of the 
ancestors of the tribe then present, enumerating, I think, 
three generations of their clan, one of the old females ex- 
claimed, "Preserve me, he kens a' about us!" The old 
chief immediately took hold of my right hand, below the 
table, with a grasp as if he were going to shake it ; and, in 
a low and subdued tone of voice, so as none might hear but 
myself, requested me to say not another word in the place 
where we were sitting, but to call on him, at the town of 

, and he would converse with me on that subject. I 

considered it imprudent to put any more questions to him 
relative to his speech, on this occasion, and agreed to meet 
him at the place he appointed. 

Several persons in the tent, (it being one of the public 
booths in the market,) who were not Gipsies, were equally 
surprised, when they observed an understanding immediately 
take place between me and the Tinklers, by means of a few 
words, the meaning of whicli they could not comprehend. A 
farmer, from the south of Scotland, who was present in the 
tent, and had that morning given the Tinklers a lamb to eat, 
met me, some days after, on tlie banks of the Yarrow. He 
shook his liead, and observed, with a smile, " Yon was queer- 
looking wark wi' the Tinklers." 

As I was anxious to penetrate to his secret speech, I re- 
solved to keep the appointment with the Gipsy, whatever 
might be the result of our meeting, and I therefore proceeded 
to the town which he mentioned, eleven days after I had 
seen him at the fair. On enquiring of the landlord of the 



LANGUAGE. 311 

principal inn, at which I put up my horse, where the house 

of , the TinMer, was situated in the town, he appeared 

surprised, and eyed me all over. He told me the street, but 
said he would not accompany me to the house, thinking that 
I wished him to go with me. It was evident that the laud- 
lord, whom I never saw before, considered himself in bad 
company, in spite of my black clotheSj black neck-cloth, and 
ruffles aforesaid, and was determined not to be seen on the 
street, either with me or the Tinkler. I told him I by no 
means wished him to accompany me, but only to tell me in 
what part of the town the Tinkler's house was to be found. 

On entering the house, I found the old chief sitting, with- 
out his coat, with an old night-cap on his head, a leathern 
apron around his waist, and all covered with dust or soot, 
employed in making spoons from horn. After conversing 
with him for a short time, I reminded him of the ancient 
language with which he was acquainted. He assumed a 
grave countenance, and said the Tinklers had no such lan- 
guage, adding, at the same time, that I should not trouble 
myself about such matters. He stoutly denied all knowledge 
of the Tinkler language, and said no such tongue existed in 
Scotland, except a few cant words. I persisted in asserting 
that they were actually in possession of a secret language, 
and again tried him with a few of my words ; but to no pur- 
pose. All my efforts produced no effect upon his obstinacy. 
At this stage of my interview, I durst not mention the word 
Gipsy, as they are exceedingly alarmed at being known as 
Gipsies. I now signified that he had forfeited his promise, 
given me at the fair, and rose to leave liim. At this remark, 
I heard a man burst out a-laughing, behind a partition tliat 
ran across the apartment in which we were sitting. The 
old man likewise started to his feet, and, with both liis sooty 
hands, took hold of the breast of my coat, on either side, 
and, in this attitude, examined me closely, scanning me all 
over from head to foot. After satisfying himself, he said, 
" Now, give me a hold of your hand — farewell — I will know 
you wlien I see you again." I bade him good-day, and left 
the house.* 

* I am convinced the Gipsies have a method of communicating^ with one 
another by their hands and fingers, and it is likely this man tried me, in 
that way, both at the fair and in his own house. I know a man who haa 
seen the Gipsies communicating their thoughts to each other in this way. 

" Bargains among the Indians are conducted in the most profound silence, 



812 A HISTOBY OF THE GIPSIES. 

I had now no hope of obtaining any information from this 
man, regarding his peculiar language. I had scarcely, how- 
ever, proceeded a hundred yards down the street, from the 
house, when I was overtaken by a young female, who re- 
quested me to return, to speak with her father. I imme- 
diately complied. On reaching the door, with the girl, I 
met one of the old man's sons, who said that he had over- 
heard what passed between his father and me, in the hou?e. 
He assured me that his father was ashamed to give me Ms 
language ; but that, if I would promise not to publish their 
names, or place of residence, he would himself give me some 
of their speech, if his father still persevered in his refus..^ 
I accordingly agreed not to make public the names, and place 
of residence, of the family. I again entered the little fac- 
tory of horn spoons. Matters were now, to all appearance, 
quite changed. The old man was very cheerful, and seemed 
full of mirth. " Come away," said he ; " what is this you 
are asking after ? I would advise you to go to Mr. Stewart, 
at Hawick, and he will tell you everything about our lan- 
guage." " Father," said the son, who had resumed his place 
behind the partition before mentioned, " you know that Mr. 
Stewart will give our speech to nobody." The old chief 
again hesitated and considered, but, being urged by his son 
and myself, he, at last, said, " Come away, then ; I will tell 
you whatever you think proper to ask me. I gave you my 
oath, at the fair, to do so. Get out your paper, pen and ink, 
and begin." He gave me no other oath, at the fair, than liis 

and by merely touching each other's hands. If the seller takes the whole 
hand, it implies a thousand rupees or pagodas ; five fingers import five 
hundred ; one finger, one hundred; half a finger, fifty; a single joint only 
ten. In this manner, they will often, in a crowded room, conclude the most 
important transactions, without the company suspecting that anything 
whatever was doing." — Historical Account of Travels in Asia, by Hugh 
Murray. 

"Method of the English selling their cargoes, at Jedda, to the Turks : 
Two Indian brokers come into the room to settle the price, one on the part 
of the Indian captain, the other on that of the buyer or Turk. They are 
neither Mahommedans nor Christians, but have credit with both. They sit 
down on the carpet, and take an Indian shawl, which they carry on their 
shoulders like a napkin, and spread it over their hands. They talk, in the 
meantime, indifferent conversation, of the arrival of ships from India, or of 
the news of the day, as if they were employed in no serious business what- 
ever. After about twenty minutes spent in handling each other's fingers, 
below the shawl, the bargain is concluded, say for nine ships, without one 
word ever having been spoken on the subject, or pen or ink used in any 
shape whatever." — Bruce' s Travels. 



LANGUAGE. 313 

word, and talking me "by the hand, that he would converse 
with me regarding the speech of the Tinklers. But, I be- 
lieve, joining hands is considered an oath in some countries 
of the Eastern world. I was fully convinced, however, that 
he was ashamed to give me his speech, and that it was with 
the greatest reluctance he spoke one word on the subject. 
The following are the words and sentences which I collected 
from him :* 

Pagrie, to break. Kair, house. 

Humf^ give me. Drom^ street or road. 

Mar^ to strike. Vile, village. 

Mang, to speak. Gave, village. 

* It is interesting to notice the reason for this old Gipsy chief being so 
backward in giving our author some of his language. " He was ashamed 
to do it." Pity it is that there should be a man in Scotland, wlio, indepen- 
dent of jiersonal character, should be ashamed of such a thing. Then, see 
how the Gipsy woman, in our author's house, said that " the public would 
look upon her with horror and contempt, were it known she could speak the 
Gipsy language." And again, the two female Gipsies, who would rather 
allow themselves to be murdered, than give the meaning of two Gipsy 
words to Sauchie colliers, for the reason that " it would have exposed their 
tribe, and made themselves odious to the world." And all for knowing the 
Gipsy language ! — which would be considered an accomplishment in an- 
other person ! What frightful tyranny ! Mr. Borrow, as we will by and 
by see, says a great deal about the law of Charles III, in regard to the pros- 
pects of the Spanish Gii)sies. But there is a law above any legislative 
enactment — the law of society, of one's fellow-creatures — which bears so 
hard upon the Gipsies ; the despotism of caste. If Gipsies, in such humble 
circumstances, are so afraid of being known to be Gipsies, we can form some 
idea of the morbid sensitiveness of those in a higher sphere of life. 

The innkeeper evidently thought himself in bad company, when our au- 
thor asked him for the Tinkler's house, or that any intercourse with a Tink- 
ler would contaminate and degrade him. In this light, read an anecdote 
in the history of John Bunyan, who was one of the same people, as I shall 
afterwards show. On applying for his release from Bedford jail, his wife 
said to Justice Hale, " Moreover, my lord, I have four small children that 
cannot help themselves, of which one is blind, and we have nothing to live 
upon but the charity of good people." Thereat, Justice Hale, looking very 
soberly on the matter, said, " Alas, poor woman !" " What is his calling ?" 
continued the judge. And some of the company, that stood by, said, (evi- 
dently in interruption, and with a bitter sneer,) " A Tinker, my lord 1" 
" Yes," replied Bunyan's wife, " and because he is a Tinker, and a poor 
man, therefore he is despised, and cannot have justice." Noble woman ! 
wife of a noble Gipsy ! If the world wishes to know who John Hunyan 
really was, it can find him depicted in our author's visit to this Scottish 
Gipsy family, where it can also learn the meaning of Bunyan, at a time 
when Jews were legally excluded from England, taking so much trouble to 
ascertain whether he was of that race, or not. From the j)resent work 
generally, the world can learn the reason why Bunyan said nothing of his 
ancestry and nationality, when giving an account of his own history. — Ed. 

14 



814 



A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 



Jaw drom, take the road, get 

off quickly. 
Hatch kere^ come here. 
Bing^ the devil. 
Bing lee^ devil miss me. 
Moolie, death. 
Moolie, I'll kill you. 
Mooled^ murdered. 
Moolie a gaugie^ kill the man. 
Bowiskie, gun or pistol. 
Harro, sword. 
Shammel^ sword. 
Chourie, knife. 
JRachlin^ hanged. 
JSallah*^ to curse. 
JClistie, soldier. 
JN'ash^ deserter. 
Grye-femler^ horse-dealer. 
Btaurdie^ prison. 
NaJc^ nose. 
YaJc^ eye. 
YaJca^ eyes. 
Mooie, mouth. 
Vast hand. 
JSherro, head 
Femmel^ hand. 
Lowie, coin or money. 
Lowa, silver. 
Curdie, half-penny. 
Bar, five shillings. 
jSize, six. 
Gri/e^ horse. 
Greham, horse. 
Prancie, horse. 
Aizel, ass. 
Jncal, dog. 
Boutler^ cow. 

* Sallah, in the Scottish Gipsy speech, properly signifies accursed, or de- 
tested. It is ong of the most abusive expressions that can be used towards 
your fellow creatures. Nothing terrifies a young Gipsy so much as to bawl 
out to him, " Sallah, jaw drom" which, in plain English, nearly means, 
" You accursed, take the road." 

It appears that, in Hindostanee, Salla is a word of the highest reproach, 
and that nothing can provoke a Hindoo so much as the applying of it to 
him. When cursing and swearing, by what would appear to be the Deity, 
the Gipsies make use of the word Sallahen. 



Balcra, sheep. 
Matchka, cat. 
Baskanie, cock. 
Caunie, hen. 
Thood, milk. 
Molzie, wine. 
Bulliment^ loaf of bread. 
Neddie^ potato. 
Shaucka, broth. 
Mass, flesh. 
Habben, bread. 
Pauplers, pottage. 
Faunie, water. 
Faurie, water. • 
Mwnlie, candle. 
Blinkie, candle. 
Flatrin, fish. 
Chizcazin, cheese. 
Romanie, whiskey. 
Casties, wood. 
Filsh, tree. 
Lodlie, quarters. 
Choar, to steal. 
Chor, a thief 
Bumie, to drink. 
Jaw vree, go away. 
Graunzie, barn. 
Graunagie, barn. 
Clack, stone. 
Yak, fire. 
Feerie, pot. 
Treepie, pot-lid. 
Boy, spoon, 
Skeio, platter. 
Swag, sack. 
Ingrims, pincers. 



LANGUAGE. 



315 



Yag-inyrims^ fire-irons. 

Savster, iron. 

Mashlam, brass or metal. 

Fizam, grass. 

Pen am, hay. 

Geeve, corn. 

Greenam, corn. 

jBeerie, ship. 

Outhrie, window. 

JSFab, horn. 

Shucha, coat. 

^ca/, hat. 

Gogle, hat. 

Cockle, hat. 

Calshes, breeches. 

Teeyakas, shoes. 

Olivers, stockings. 

Beenship, good. 

Baurie, good. 

Shan, bad. 

Range, mad. 

J??aA, Rajah, chief, governor. 

^een riaA, the king. 

^ee/i mort, the queen. 

jB^^n gaugie, gentleman. 



Been riah, gentleman. 

Been mort, lady. 

Yagger, collier. 

Nawken,* Tinkler, Gipsy. 

Davies, day. 

Rat, night. 

Beenship mashlam, good metal 

Beenship-rai, good-night. 

Beenlightment, Sabbath-day. 

Shan drom, bad road. 

Shan davies, bad day. 

Gaugie, man. 

Managie, woman. 

Mort, wife. 

Chavo, son. 

Chauvies, children. 

Praw, son. 

Prawl, daughter. 

Nais-gaugie, grandfather. 

Nais-mort^ grandmother. 

Aukaman, marriage. 

Carie, penis. 

Bight, pudenda. 

Sjair, to ease nature. 

Jair dah, a woman's apron. 



I was desirous to learn, from this Gipsy, if there were any 
traditions among the Scottish Gipsies, as to their origin, 
and tlie country from which they came. He stated that the 
language of which he had given me a specimen was an Ethi- 
opian dialect, used by a tribe of thieves and robbers ; and 
that the Gipsies were originally from Ethiopia, although 
now called Gipsies.t He now spoke of himself and his 
tribe by the name of Gipsies, without hesitation or alarm. 
" Our Gipsy language," added he, " is softer than your harsh 
Gaelic." He was at considerable pains to give me the 
proper sound of the words. The letter a is pronounced broad 

* Nawken has a number of significations, such as Tinkler, Gipsy, a wan- 
derer, a worker in iron, a man who can do anything for himself in the 
mechanical arts, <fec., &,c. 

f The tradition among the Scottish Gipsies of being Ethiopians, what- 
ever weight the reader may attach to it, dates as far back, at least, as the 
year 1615 ; for it is mentioned in the remission under the privy seal, 
granted to William Auchterlony, of Cayrine, for resetting John Faa and 
his followers. /See page 11 o. — Ed. 



816 A HISTOIiY OF THE GIPSIES. 

in their language, like aw in paw, or a in water ; and ie, or 
ee, in the last syllable of a great many words, are sounded 
short and quick ; and ch soft, as in church. Their speech 
appears to be copious, for, said he, they have a great 
many words and expressions for one thing. He further 
stated that the Gipsy language has no alphabet, or character, 
by which it can be learned, or its grammatical construction 
ascertained. He never saw any of it written. I observed 
to him that it would, in course of time, be lost. He replied, 
that " so long as there existed two Gipsies in Scotland, it 
would never be lost." He informed me that every one of 
the Yetholm Tinklers spoke the language ; and that almost 
all those persons who were selling ear then- ware at St. Bos- 
well's fair were Gipsies. I counted myself twenty-four fami- 
lies, with earthen-ware, and nine female heads of families, 
selling articles made of horn. These thirty-three fami- 
lies, together with a great many single Gipsies scattered 
through the fair, would amount to above three hundred Gip- 
sies on the spot. He further mentioned that none of the 
Yetholm Gipsies were at the market. The old man also in- 
formed me that a great number of our horse-dealers are 
Gipsies. " Listen attentively," said he, " to our horse-coup- 
ers, in a market, and you will hear them speaking in the 
Gipsy tongue." I enquired how many there were in Scot- 
land acquainted with the language. He answered, " There 
are several thousand." I further enquired, if he thought the 
Gipsy population would amount to five thousand souls. He 
replied he was sure there were fully five thousand of his 
tribe in Scotland. It was further stated to me, by this fam- 
ily, that the Gipsies are at great pains in teaching their 
children, from their very infancy, their own language ; and 
that they embrace every opportunity, when by themselves, 
of conversing in it, about their ordinary affairs. They also 
pride themselves very much in being in possession of a 
speech peculiar to themselves — quite unknown to the public. 
I then sent for some spirits wherewith to treat the old 
chief ; but I was cautioned, by one of the family, not to 
press him to drink much, as, from his advanced age and in- 
firmities, little did him harm. The moment you speak to 
an intelligent Gipsy chief, in a familiar and kindly m^anner, 
putting yourself, as it were, on a level with him, you find 
him entirely free from all embarrassment in Ms manners. 



LANGUAGE. 317 

He speaks to you, at once, in a free^ independent, confident, 
emphatic tone, without any rudeness in his way of address- 
ing you. He never loses his self-possession. The old chief- 
tain sang part of a Gipsy song, in his own language, but he 
would not allow me to write it down.^ Indeed, by his man- 
ner, he seemed frequently to hesitate whether he would pro- 
ceed any further in giving me information, and appeared to 
regret that he had gone so far as he had done. I now 
and then stopped him in his song, and asked him the mean- 
ing of some of the expressions. It was, however, intermixed 
with a few English words ; perhaps every fifth word was 
English. The Gipsy words, graunzie (barn), caunies (chick- 
ens), molzie (wine), staurdie (prison), mort and chauvies 
(wife and children), were often repeated. In short, the sub- 
ject of the song was that of a Gipsy, lying in chains in 
prison, lamenting that he could not support his wife and 
children by plunder and robbery. The Gipsy was repre- 
sented as mourning over his hard fate, deprived of his liberty, 
confined in a dungeon, and expressing the happiness and de- 
light which he had when free, and would have were he lying 
in a barn, or out-house, living upon poultry, and drinking 
wine with his tribe.t 

This family, like all their race, now became much alarmed 
at their communications ; and it required considerable trou- 
ble on my part to allay their fears. The old man was in 
the greatest anguish of mind, at having committed himself 
at all, relative to his speech. I was very sorry for his dis- 
tress, and renewed my promise not to publish his name, or 
place of residence, assuring him he had nothing to fear. It 

* The Scottish Gipsies have doubtless an oral literature, like their breth- 
ren in other countries. It would be strauge indeed if they did not rank as 
high, in that respect, as many of the barbarous tribes in the world. People 
so situated, with no written language, are wonderfully apt at picking up, 
and retaining, any composition that contains poetry and music, to which 
oral literature is chiefly confined. In that respect, their faculties, like those 
of the blind, are shar{)ened by the wants which others do not experience in 
indulging a feeling common to all mankind. 

A striking instance of a people, unacquainted with the art of writing, 
possessing a literature, is said to have been found in Hawaii ; and to such 
an extent, as to " possess a force and compass that, at the beginning of the 
study of it, would not have been credited." — Ed. 

f A song which a female Gipsy sang to Mr. Borrow, at Moscow, com- 
menced in this way, ** Her head is aching with grief, as if she had tasted 
•wine ;" and ended thus, " That she may depart in quest of the lord of hei 
bosom, and share his joys and pleasures." — Ed. 



818 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

is now many years since he died. He was considered a very 
decent, honest man, and was a great favourite with those 
who were acquainted with him. But his wife, and some 
other members of his family, followed the practices of their 
ancestors. 

Publish their language ! Give to the world that which 
they had kept to themselves, with so much solicitude, so 
much tenacity, so much fidelity, for three hundred and fifty 
years ! A parallel to such a phenomenon cannot be found 
within the whole range of history.* What will the Tinklers, 
the " poor things," as Sir Walter Scott so feelingly called 
them — what will they think of me, after the publication of 
the present work ?t 

* Smith, in his " Hebrew people," writes : " The Jews had almost lost, in 
the seventy years' captivity, their original language ; that was now become 
dead ; and they spoke a jargon made up of their own language and that of 
the Chaldeans, and other nations with whom they had mingled. Formerly, 
preachers had only explained subjects ; now, they were obliged to explain 
words ; words which, in the sacred code, were become obsolete, equivocal, 
dead." — Ed. 

f The Gipsies have been much annoyed, in late times, by people anxious 
to find out their secrets. The circumstance caused them, at first, much 
alarm as to what it meant ; but when they came to learn the object of this 
modern Gipsy-hunting, they became, in a measure, reconciled to their trou- 
bles ; for they were perfectly satisfied that the labours of these inquisitive 
people would, in the language of Ruthven, " be in vain." But the attempt 
of our author, with his " open sesame," caused not a few of them to travel 
through life with the weight of a millstone hanging about their necks, 
which the publication, now, is perhaps calculated to lighten. The " giving 
to the world everything relative to their tribe," was something they were 
more apt to over than under estimate. To be " put in the papers," judg- 
ing from the horror with which sucli is regarded by our own humble peo- 
ple, was bad enough ; still, the end of that would, in their peculiar way of 
thinking, be merely the " lighting of the candles, and curling the hair, of 
the gentle folk." But to have themselves put in a book — to see themselves, 
in their imaginations, " carried about in every bit herd-laddie's pouch," was 
something that aggravated them. The presumptuous pride, the overween- 
ing conceit of a high-mettled Scottish Gipsy ; his boasted descent — a des- 
cent at once high, illustrious, and lost in antiquity ; his unbounded con- 
tempt for the rabble of town and country — rendered him, under the cir- 
cumstances, almost incapable of brooking the idea of seeing his race 
exposed to, what he would consider, the ridicule of the very herds. The 
very idea of it was to him mortifying and maddening. Well might our 
author, from having been so much mixed up with the Gipsies, show some 
hesitancy ere taking a step that would have brought such a nest of hornets 
about his ears. But, all things considered, my impression is, that the out- 
door Gipsies, at the present day, will feel extremely proud of the present 
work ; and that the same may be said of all classes of them, if one subject 
had been excluded from the volume, over which they will be very apt to 
growl a little in secret.— Ed. 



LANGUAGE. 319 

While walking one day, with a friend, around the harbour 
of Grangemoutli, I observed a man, who appeared above 
seventy years of age, carrying a small wooden box on his 
shoulder, a leathern apron tied around his waist, with a 
whitish coloured bull-dog following him. He was enquir- 
ing of the crews of the vessels in the port, whether they had 
any pots, kettles, or pans to repair. Just as my friend and 
I came up to him, on the quay, I said to him, in a familiar 
manner, as if I knew exactly what he was, " Bauriejucalj^ 
words which signify, in the Gipsy language, a " good dog." 
Being completely taken by surprise, the old man turned 
quickly round, and, looking down at his dog, said, without 
thinking what he was about, " Yes, the dog is not bad." 
But the words had scarcely escaped his lips ere he affected 
not to comprehend my question, after he had distinctly an- 
swered it. He looked exceedingly foolish, and afforded my 
friend a hearty laugh, at his attempt at recovering himself. 
He became agitated and angry, and called out, " What do 
you mean ? I don't understand you — yes, the dog is hairy J^ 
I said not another word, nor took any further notice of him, 
but passed on, for fear of provoking him to mischief. He 
stood stock-still upon the spot, and, keeping his eyes fixed 
upon me, as long as I was in sight, appeared to be consider- 
ing with himself what I could be, or whether he might not 
have seen me before. He looked so surprised and alarmed, 
that he could scarcely trust liimself in the place, since he 
found, to a certainty, that his grand secret was known. I 
saw liira a short while afterwards, at a little distance, with 
his glasses on, sitting on the ground, in the manner of the 
East, with his hammers and files, tin and copper, about him, 
repairing cooking utensils belonging to a vessel in the basin ; 
with his trusty jucal, sitting close at his back, like a senti- 
nel, to defend him. The truth is, I was not very fond of 
having anything further to do with this member of the tribe, 
in case he had resented my interference with him and his 
speech. This old man wore a long great-coat, and exter- 
nally looked exactly like a blacksmith. No one of ordinary 
observation could Iiave perceived him to be a Gipsy ; as 
there were no striking peculiarities of expression about his 
countenance, which indicated him as being one of that race. 
I was surprised at my own discovery. 

A Gipsy informed me that almost all our thimble-riggers, 



320 A HIS TOUT OF TEE GIPSIES. 

or " thimble-men," as they are sometimes called, are a supe- 
rior class of Gipsies, and converse in the Gipsy language. 
In the summer of 1836, an opportunity presented itself to 
me to verify the truth of this information. On a by-road, 
between Edinburgh and Newhaven, I fell in with a band of 
these thimble-riggers, employed at their nefarious occupa- 
tion. The band consisted of six individuals, all personating 
different characters of the community. Some had the ap 
pearance of mercantile clerks, and others represented young 
farmers, or dealers in cattle, of inferior appearance. The 
man in charge of the board and thimbles looked like a 
journeyman blacksmith or plumber. They all pretended tc 
be strangers to each other. Some were betting and playing, 
and others looking on, and acting as decoys. None besides 
themselves were present, except myself, a young lad, and a 
respectable-looking elderly female. I stood and looked at 
the band for a little ; but as nobody was playing but them- 
selves, the man with the thimbles, to lead me on, urged me 
to bet with him, and try my fortune at his board. I said I 
did not intend to play, and was only looking at them. I 
took a steady look at the faces of each of the six villains ; 
but, whenever their eyes caught mine, they looked away, or 
down to the ground, verifying the saying that a rogue can- 
not look you in the face. The man at the board again 
urged me to play, and, with much vapouring and insolence, 
took out a handful of notes, and said he had many hundreds 
a year ; that I was a poor, shabby fellow, and had no money 
on me, and, therefore, could not bet with him. I desired 
him to let me alone, otherwise I would let them see I was 
not to be insulted, and that I knew more about them than 
they were aware of. " Who the devil are you, sir, to speak 
to us in that manner," was the answer I received. I again 
replied, that, if they continued their insolence, I would 
show them who I was. This only provoked them the more, 
and increased their violent behaviour. High words then 
arose, and the female alluded to, thinking I was in danger, 
kindly entreated me to leave them. I now thought it time 
to try what effect my Gipsy words would produce upon 
them. In an authoritative tone of voice, I called out to 
them, " Chee, chee /" which, in the Scottish Gipsy language, 
signifies " Hold your tongue," " be silent," or " silence."* 

* A ladj, who had been seventeen years in India, told me that " Chee, 



LANOTIAGE. 821 

The surprised tliimble-men were instantly silent. They 
spoke not a word, but looked at one another. Only, one 
of them whispered to his companions, " He is not to be 
meddled with." They immediately took up their board, 
thimbles and all, and left the place, apparently in consider- 
able alarm, some taking one direction and some another. 
The female in question was also surprised at seeing their 
insolent conduct repressed, in a moment, by a single expres- 
sion. "But, sir," said she, "what was that you said to 
them, for they seem afraid V I was myself afraid to say 
another word to them, and took care they did not see me 
go to my dwelling-house.* 

One of the favourite, and permanent, fields of operation of 
these thimblers is on the Queensferry road, from where it is 

chee" was, in Hindostanee, an expression of reproof, corresponding exactly 
with our " Fie, shame !" " Oh fie, shame !" 

* About four years after this occurrence, I was invited to dine at the 
house of a friend, with whose wife I was not acquainted. On being introduced 
to her, I was rather surprised at the repeated hard looks which she took at 
me. At last she said, " I think I have seen you before. Were you never 
engaged with a band of thimble-men, near Newhaven?" I said I was, 
some years ago. " Do you recollect," continued she, " of a female taking 
you by the arm, and urging you to leave them ?" I said, " Perfectly." 
" Well, then, I am the female ; and I yet recollect your words were Chee, 
chee." She mentioned the circumstance to her husband at the time ; but he 
always said to her that I must have been only one of the blackguards 
themselves, deceiving her. He would not listen to her when she described 
me as not at all like a thimble-rigger, but always answered her, " I tell ye, 
woman, the man you spoke to Avas nothing but one of these villains." 

The thimble-riggers who molested Mr. Rose, ship-builder, so much, also 
answered my Gipsy words distinctly ; and, ever afterwards, took off their 
hats to me, as I passed them playing at their game. 

[The thimble-men here alluded to took up their quarters immediately to 
the west of Leith Fort, where the road takes a turn, at a right angle, a 
little in front of Mr. Rose's house, and there takes a similar turn towards 
the west : the best position for carrying on the thimble game. So exas- 
perated was this gentleman, when, by every means in his power, he failed 
to dislodge them, that he sent some of the men from his yard, to erect, on 
the spot, a pole, which he covered with sheet-iron, to prevent it being cut 
down ; and placed on the top of it a board, having this upon it, " lie ware 
of thimble-riggers and chain-droppers," with a hand pointing directly 
below. This had no effect, however, for the " knights of the thimble" pur- 
sued their game right under it. A gentleman, in passing one day, directed 
their attention to the board, but the only reply he got was, " liah 1 that's 
nothing. Where can you find a shop without a sign ? and where 's the 
other person that gets a sign from the public for nothing ?" 

Thimble-rigging is peculiarly a Gipsy game. In Great Britain, the 
Gipsies nearly monopolize it ; and it would be singular if some of the 
American thimblers were not Gipsies. — Ed.] 

14* 



822 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

intersected by the street leading from the back of Leith 
Fort, on the east, to the new road leading from Granton 
pier, on the west. This part of the Queensferry road is 
intersected by about half-a-dozen cross-roads, all leading 
from the landing and shipping places at the piers of 
Granton, Trinity, and Newhaven. These cross-roads are 
cut by three roads running nearly parallel to each other, 
viz., the road along the sea-beach, Trinity road, and the 
Queensferry road. A great portion of the passengers, by 
the many steamboats, pass along all these different roads, 
to and from Edinburgh. On all of these roads, between the 
water of Leith and the Forth, the thimble-riggers station 
themselves, as single individuals, or in numbers, as it may 
answer their purpose. In fact, this part of the country 
between the sea and Edinburgh is so much chequered by 
roads crossing each other, that it may be compared to the 
meshes of a spider's web, and the thimblers as so many 
spiders, watching to pounce upon their prey. The moment 
one of these sentinels observes a stranger appear, signals are 
made to his confederates, when their organized plan of 
operations for entrapping the unwary person is imme- 
diately put in execution. Strangers, unacquainted with the 
locality, are greatly bewildered among all the cross-roads 
mentioned, and have considerable difficulty in threading 
their way to the city. One of the gang will then step for- 
ward, and, pretending to be a stranger himself, will enquire 
of the others the road to such and such a place. Frequently 
the unsuspecting and bewildered individual will enquire of 
the thimbler for some street or place in Edinburgh. The 
decoy and the victim now walk in company, and converse 
familiarly together on various topics ; the thimbler offers 
snuff to his friend, and makes himself as agreeable as he 
can ; while one of the gang, at a distance in front, drops a 
watch, chain, or other piece of mock jewelry, or commences 
playing at the thimble-board. The decoy is sure to lead 
his dupe exactly to the spot where the trap is laid, and 
where he will probably be plundered. One of these entrap- 
ments terminated in the death of its subject. A working 
man, having risked his half-year's wages at the thimble- 
board, of course lost every farthing of the money ; and took 
the loss so much to heart as, in a fit of despondency, to 
drown himself in the water of Leith. 



LANGUAGE. 323 

In the beginning of 1842, 1 fell in with six of these thim- 
ble-riggers and chain-droppers, on Newhaven road, on their 
way to Edinburgh. I was anxious to discover the nature 
of their conversation, and kept as close to them as I could, 
without exciting their suspicion. Like that of most people 
brought up in one particular line of life, their conversation 
related wholly to their own trade — that of swindling, theft, 
and robbery. I overheard them speaking of " bloody swells," 
and of dividing their booty. One of them was desired by 
the others to look after a certain steamboat, expected to 
arrive, and to get a bill to ascertain its movements exactly. 
He said he would " require three men to take care of that 
boat" ; meaning, as I understood him, that all these men 
were necessary for laying his snares, and executing his 
designs upon the unsuspecting passengers, as they landed 
from the vessel, and were on their way to their destinations. 
The manager of the steamboat company could not have 
consulted with his subordinates, about their lawful affairs, 
with more care and deliberation, or in a more cool, business- 
like way, than were these villains in contriving plans for 
plundering the public. On their approach to Pilrig street, the 
band separated into pairs ; some taking the north, and some 
the south, side of Leith walk, for Edinburgh, wliere they 
vanished in the crowd. Their language was fearful, every 
expression being accompanied by a terrible oath. 

On another occasion, I fell in with another band of these 
vagabond thimble-men, on the Dalkeith road, near Craig- 
miller Castle. I asked the fellow with the thimbles, " Is 
that gaugie a nawken V pointing to one of the gang who 
had just left him. The question, in plain English, was, " Is 
that man a Gipsy ?" The thimbler flew at once into a great 
passion, and bawled out, " Ask liimself, sir." He then fell 
upon me, and a gentleman who was with me, in most abusive 
language, applying to us the most insulting epithets he could 
think of. It was evident to my friend that the thimble-man 
perfectly understood my Gipsy question. So enraged was 
he, that we were afraid he would follow us, and do us some 
harm. My friend did not consider himself safe till he was 
in the middle of Edinburgh, for many a look did he cast be- 
hind him, to see whether the Gipsy was not in pursuit of us,* 

* There is a Gipsy belonging to one of these bands, known by the sou- 
briquet of the " winged duck/' fropi haying Jost an arm, of whom I have 



824 A mSTORT OF THE GIPSIES. 

The Gipsies in Scotland consider themselves to be of tlie 
same stock as those in England and Ireland, for they are all 
acquainted with the same speech. They afford assistance to 
one another, whenever tliey happen to meet. The following 

often heard our author speak. He is what may be called the captain of 
the company. A description of him, and his way of life, may be inter- 
esting, inasmuch as it illustrates a class of Scottish Gipsies at the present 
day. 

About the year 1853, three young gentlemen, from the town of Leith, had 
occasion to take a stroll over Arthur's Seat, a hill that overliangs Edin- 
burgh, on the east side of the city. On climbing the hill, they observed, a 
little way before them, a man toiling up the ascent, whom they did not 
notice till they came close upon him, and who had evidently been lying oflF 
on the side of the path, and entered it as they approached it. He appears 
about sixty years of age, is well dressed, and carries a fine cane, which he 
keeps pressing into the ground, to help him up the hill. Just as they make 
up to him, he abruptly stops, and turns round, so as almost to touch them. 
" Hech, how ! I'm blown, I'm blown ; I'm fairly done up. Young gentle- 
men, you have the advantage of me ; I'm getting old. and it is hard for me 
to climb the hill." (Blown, done up, indeed ! The fellow has stamina 
enough to outclimb any of them for years yet.) An agreeable conversation 
ensues, such as at once gains for him the confidence of the j'ouths. He 
appears to thom so mild, so bland, so fatherly, so worthy of respect, in short, 
a "nice old cove," who is evidently enjoying his otiuni cum dJgnitafe in his 
old age, in some cottage near by, upon a pension, an annuity, or a moderate 
competency of some sort. During the conversation, he manages to ascer- 
tain that his young friends have not been on the hill for some time — that 
one of them, indeed, has never been there before. All at once he exclaims, 
" Ah ! Avhat can this be ? Let us go and see." Upon which they step for- 
ward to look at a person like a mechanic playing at the thimbles. Placing 
his arm around the neck of one of the 3"oung men, he begins to moralize: 
" Pray, young gentlemen, don't bet, (they had not shown the least symptoms 
of doing that ;) it's wrong to bet ; it's a thing I never do; I would advise 
you not to do it. This is a rascally thimbler ; he'll chont, he'll rob you." 
At this time there are three playing at the board, winning and losing 
money rapidly. The " old cove" becomes impatient to be gone, and mo- 
tions so as to imply, " Boys, let us go, let us go." Moving a few steps 
forward, he halts to admire the scenery, (but casts a leering eye in the 
direction of the board.) "Ah! there's another goose gone to be plucked; 
let us see what luck he meets with." 

Now thimble rigging is the game, of all others, by which the uninitiated 
can be duped. They see the pea put under one of the thimble?;, (nutshells 
they are, indeed ;) there seems to be no doubt of that. 'J he thimbles are 
then so gently moved, that any one can follow them. The pea is not after- 
wards tampered with — that is evident. All, then, that remains to be done, 
is to lift the thimble under which the pea is, and secure your prize. But 
the thimble man. with his long nail, and nimble finger, has secured the pea 
under his uail, or, with the crook of his little finger, thrust it into the palm 
of his hand, while he pretended to cover it with the thimble. An accom- 
plice, to make doubly sure of the pea being under the thimble, lifts it, and 
shows a pea. which he, by sleight of han(', drops, and, while pretendiag to 
cover it, as nimbly takes it up again. 



LANGUAGE. 325 

facts will at least show that the Scottish and Irish Gipsies 
are one and the same people. 

In the county of Fife, I once fell in with an Irish 
family, to appearance in great poverty and distress, rest- 
ing themselves on the side of the public road. A shelty 

Betting and playing go on as before. The player makes some fine hauls, 
but loses a game. He swears that foul play has been used. An altercation 
follows. The man at the board gets excited, and to show that he really is 
honourable in his playing, exclaims, " Well, sir, there's your money again ; 
try another game if you have a mind." " Now that is really honest, and 
no mistake about it," remarks the " old cove." Then the tbimbler averts 
his head, to speak to a person behind him, and the " old cove" slyly lifts a 
thimble and shows the pea, and whispers very confidentially to his friend?, 
" Now, young gentlemen, you can safely bet a few shillings on that." They 
shake their heads, however, for they know too much about thimbling. The 
*' old cove" now gets fidgetty, and, managing to edge a little away from the 
board, commences, in a subdued tone, to speak, in a strange gibberish, to 
another bystander; but, forgetting himself, drops a word rather louder 
than the others, on which, as he turns round and catches the eyes of his 
young friends, he coughs and hems. On hearing the gibberish, a fear steals 
over the young men, on finding themselves surrounded by a band of des- 
peradoes, in so solitary a place, and they make haste to be ofi; But the 
" old cove," to quiet their susj^icions, accompanies them to a convenient 
spot, where he leaves them, to go to his home, by a side-path that soon 
leads him out of sight. On separating, he looks around him at the scenery, 
now lets fall his stick, now picks up something, that he may, with less sus- 
picion, watch the movements of his escaped victims. They feel a singular 
relief in getting rid of his company, and, -with tact, dog him over the hill, 
till they see him go back to the thimblers. They then tliink over their 
adventure, and tlie strange jargon they have heard, and unanimously ex- 
claim, " Wasn't he a slippery old serpent, after all !" 

On this occasion, there were no less than fourteen of these fellows present, 
some of tliem stationed here, some there, while they kept artfully moving 
around and about the hill, so as not to appear connected, but frequently 
approached the board, to contribute to and watch their luck. They per- 
sonated various characters. One of them plaj'ed the country lout, whose 
dress, gait, gape, and stare were inimitable. On the sliglitest symptom of 
danger manifesting itself, they would, by the movement of a hat, scatter, 
and vanish in an instant. 

Among the people generally, a mystery attaches to these and other 
thimble-men. No one seems to know anything about them — who they are 
or where they come from — and yet they are seen flitting every wliere through 
the country ; but hardly ever two days together in one dress. Hut the 
mystery is solved by their being Gipsies. They are dangerous fellows to 
meddle with; yet they seem to prefer thimbling, chain-dropping, card- 
playing, pocket-picking, in fairs and thorouii^hfarcs, and jiigeon-plucking 
in every form, to robbery on the high-way, after the manner of their ances- 
tors. 

Thimble-rigging, according to Sir J. Gardner Wilkinson, was practised 
in ancient Egjpt. He calls it " thimble-rig, or the game of cups, under 
which a ball was put. while the opposite party guess^ed Uftd^er wliicii of four 
It was concealed." — Ed. 



326 A HIS TOBY OF THE GIPSIES. 

and an ass were grazing hard by. The ass they used in 
carrying a woman, who, they said, was a hundred and one 
years of age. She was shrunk and withered to a skeleton, 
or rather, I should say, to a bundle of bones ; and her chin 
almost rested on her knees, and her body was nearly doubled 
by age. On interrogating the head of the family, I Ibund 
that his name was Hugh White, and that he was an Irish- 
man, and a son of the old woman who was with him. I put 
some Gipsy words to him, to ascertain whether or not he 
was one of the tribe. He pretended not to understand what 
I said ; but his daughter, of about six years of age, replied, 
"But I understand what he says." I then called out 
sharply to him, '^Jaw vree'^ — ("Go away," or "get out of 
the way.") "As soon as I can," was his answer. On 
leaving him, I again called, " Beensliijy-davies^^ — (" Good- 
day.") " Good-day, sir ; God bless you," was his immedi- 
ate reply. 

I happened, at another time, to be in the court-house of 
one of the burghs north of the Forth, when two Irishmen, 
of the names of O'Reilly and McEwan, were at the bar for 
having been found drunk, and fighting witliin the town. 
They were sentenced by the magistrates to three days' im- 
prisonment, and to be " banished the town," for their riotous 
conduct. The men had the Irish accent, and had certainly 
been born and brought up in Ireland ; but their habiliments 
and general appearance did not correspond exactly with the 
ordinary dress and manners of common Irish peasants, al- 
though their features were in all respects Hibernian. When 
the magistrates questioned them in respect to their conduct, 
the prisoners looked very grave, and said, " Sure, and it 
plase your honours, our quarrel was nothing but whiskey, 
and sure we are the best friends in the world ;" and seemed 
very penitent. But when the magistrates were not looking 
at them, they were smiling to each other, and keeping up a 
communication in pantomime. Suspecting them to be Irish 
Gipsies, I addressed the wife of McEwan as follows : " For 
what is the riah (magistrate) going to put your gavgie 
(man) in siaurdie, (prison) ?" " Only for a little whiskey, 
sir," was her immediate reply. She gave me, on the spot, 
the English of the following words ; adding, at the same 
time, that I had got the Gipsy language, but that her's was 
only the English cant. She was afraid to acknowledge that 



LANGUAGE. 327 

she was a Gipsy, as such a confession might, in her opinion, 
have proved prejudicial to her husband, in the situation in 
which he was placed. 

Gaugie, man. Yaka^ eyes. 

Managie, woman. ^^*y^5 horse. 

Chauvies, children. Roys^ spoons. 

Riah^ magistrate. Skews, platters. 

Chor, thief. Mashlam, metal. 

I observed the woman instantly communicate to her hus- 
band the conversation she had with me. She immediately 
returned to me, and, after questioning me as to my name, 
occupation, and place of residence, very earnestly entreated 
me to save her gaugie from the staurdie. I asked her, how 
many chauvies she had ? " Twelve, sir." Were any of 
them chors ? " None, sir." Two of her chauvies were in 
her hand, weeping bitterly. The woman was in great dis- 
tress, and when she heard the sound of her own language, 
she thought she saw a friend. I informed one of the magis- 
trates, whom I knew, that the prisoners were Gipsies ; and 
proposed to him to mitigate the punishment of the woman's 
husband, on condition of his giving me a specimen of his 
secret speech. But the reply of the man of authority was, 
" The scoundrel shall lie in prison till the last hour of his 
sentence." The " scoundrel," however, did not remain in dur- 
ance so long. While the jailer was securing him in prison, 
the determined Tinkler, with the utmost coolness and indif- 
ference, asked him, which part of the jail would be the easiest 
for him to break through. The jailer told him that, if he 
attempted to escape, the watchman, stationed in the church- 
yard, close to the prison, would shoot him. On visiting the 
prison next morning, the turnkey found that the Gipsy had 
undone the locks of the doors, and fled during the niglit. 
O'Reilly, the other Gipsy, remained, in a separate cell, the 
whole period of his sentence. When the officers were com- 
pleting the other part of his punishment — " banishing him 
from the town" — the regardless, light-hearted Irish Tinkler 
went capering along the streets, with his coat off, brandisli- 
ing, and sweeping, and twirling his shillalah, in the Gipsy 
fashion. Meeting, in this excited state, his late judge, the 
Tinkler, with the utmost contempt and derision, called out 



328 



A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 



to him, "Plase your honour! won't you now take a fight 
with me, for the sake of friendship ?" This worthy Irish 
Gipsy represented himself as the head Tinkler in Perth, and 
the first of the second class of boxers. 

On another occasion, I observed a horde of Gipsies on 
the high street of Inverkeithing, employed in making spoons 
from horn. 1 spoke to one of the young married men, partly 
in Scottish Gipsy words, when he immediately answered me 
in English. He said they were all natives of Ireland. They 
had, male and female, the Irish accent completely. I invited 
this man to accompany me to a public-house, that I might 
obtain from him a specimen of his Irish Gipsy language. 
The town-clerk being in my company at the time, I asked 
him to go with me, to hear what passed ; but he refused, 
evidently because he considered that the company of a 
Gipsy would contaminate and degrade him. I treated the 
Tinkler with a glass of spirits, and obtained from him the 
following words : 



Yaik^ one. 
Duie, two. 
Trin, three. 
Punch, five. 
Saus, six. 
Liiften, eight. 
Sonnakie, gold. 
Boug, silver. 
Vanister, ring. 
Hat, night. 
Cham, the moon. 
Borlan, the sun. 
Yak, fire. 
Chowrie, knife. 
Bar, stone. 
Shuha, coat. 
Hoy, spoon. 
Cha.uvie, child. 
Oaugie, man. 
Mort and kinshen, wife and 

child. 
Klistie, soldier. 
Huffie lee ma^ devil miss me. 



Nasher, deserter. 
Daw-douglars, hand-cuffs. 
Staurdie, prison. 
Lodie, lodgings. 
Vile, town. 
Yak, eye. 
Deekers, eyes. 
Shir, head. 
Test, head. 
Nak, nose. 
Mooie, mouth. 
Meffemel, hand. 
Grye, horse, 
Aizel, ass. 
Dugal, dog. 
Bakra, sheep. 
Huffie, devil. 
Bing, devil. 
Feck, take. 

Huffie feck ma, devil take me. 
Nawken, Tinkler, 
Baurie-dews, Nawken, good-day, 
Tinkler. 



LANGUAGE. 329 

This man conducted himself very politely, his behaviour be- 
ing very correct and becoming ; and he seemed much pleased 
at being noticed, and kindly treated. At first, he spoke 
wholly in the Gipsy language, thinking that I was as well 
acquainted with it as himself. But when he found that I 
knew only a few words of it, he, like all his tribe, stopped 
in his communications, and, in this instance, began to quiz 
and laugh at my ignorance. On returning to the street, I 
repeated some of the words to one of the females. She 
laughed, and, with much good humour, said, " You will put 
me out, by speaking to me in that language." 

These facts prove that the Irish Gipsies have the same 
language as those in Scotland. The English Gipsy is sub- 
stantially the same. There are a great many Irish Gipsies 
travelling in Scotland, of whom I will again speak, in the 
following chapter. They are not easily distinguished 
from common Irish peasants, except that they are gen- 
erally employed in some sort of trafiSc, such as hawking 
earthen- ware, trinkets, and various other trifles, through the 
country. 

It may interest the reader to know how the idea origi- 
nated that the Gipsies, at all events their speech, came, or 
was thought to have come, from Hindostan. According to 
Grellmann, it was in this way : 

" The following is an article to be found in the Vienna 
Gazette, from a Captain Szekely, who was thinking of 
searching for (the origin of) the Gipsies, and their language, 
in the East Indies : In the year 1763, on the 6th of Novem- 
ber, a printer, whose name was Stephen Pap Szathmar Ne- 
methi, came to see me. Talking upon various subjects, we 
at last fell upon that of the Gipsies ; and my guest related 
to me the following anecdote, from the mouth of a preacher 
of the Reformed Church, Stephen Vali, at Almasch. When 
the said Vali studied at the University of Leyden, he was 
intimately acquainted with some young Malabars, of whom 
three are obliged constantly to study there ; nor can they re- 
turn home till relieved by three others. Having observed that 
their native language bore a great affinity to that spoken 
by the Gipsies, he availed himself of the opportunity to note 
down from themselves upwards of one thousand words, to- 
gether with their significations. After Vali was returned 
from the University, he informed himself of the Raber Gip- 



3.^0 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

sies, concerning the meaning of his Malabar words, which 
they explained without trouble or hesitation."* 

None of the Scottish Gipsy words have as yet, I believe, 
been collated with the Hindostanee, the supposed mother 
tongue of the Gipsies.t I showed my list to a gentleman 
lately from India, who, at first sight, pointed out, from 
among several hundred words and sentences scattered 
through these pages, about thirty-nine which very closely re- 
sembled Hindostanee. But in ascertaining the origin of the 
Gipsies, the traveller. Dr. Bright, thinks it would be desir- 
able to procure some of the speech of the lowest classes in 
India, and compare it with the Gipsy, as spoken in Europe ; 
for the purpose of showing, more correctly, the affinity of 
the two languages. He supposes, as I understand him, that 
the terms used by the despised and unlettered Gipsies 
would probably resemble more closely the vulgar idiom of 
the lowest castes in India, than the Hindostanee spoken by 
the higher ranks, or that which is to be found in books. 
The following facts show that Dr. Bright's conjectures are 
not far from the truth. 

I had occasion at one time to be on board of a vessel 
lying in the harbour of Limekilns, Fifeshire, where I ob- 
served a black man, acting as cook, of the name of John 
Lobbs, about twenty-five years of age, and a native of Bom- 
bay, who could neither read nor write any language what- 
ever. He stated that he was now a Christian, and had 
been baptized by the name of John. He had been absent 
from India three years, as cabin boy, in several British ves- 
sels, and spoke English well. He appeared to be of a low 
caste in his native land, but sharpened by his contact with 
Europeans. Recollecting Dr. Bright's hint, it occurred to 

* " The opinion, that the Gipsies came originally from India, seems to 
haye been very early entertained, although it was again soon forgotten, or 
silently relinquished. Hieronj'mus Foroliviensis, in the nineteenth volume 
of Muratori, says, that on the 7th day of August, A. D, 1422, 2u0 of the 
Cingari came to his native town, and remained there two days, on their 
way to Rome, and that some of them said that they came from India, ' et 
ut audivi aliqui dicehnnt quod erant de India ;' and the account which Mun- 
ster gives of what he gathered from one of the Cingari, in 1524, seems to 
prove that an impression existed amongst them of their having come from 
that country." — Briciht. — Ed. 

f Mr. Baird's Missionary Report contained a collation of the Scottish 
Gipsy with Hindostanee, but that appeared considerably after what our 
author has said was written. — Ed. 



LANGUAGE. 



331 



me that this Hindoo's vulgar dialect might resemble the 
language of our Scottish Gipsies. I repeated to him about 
one hundred and eighty Gipsy words and expressions. The 
greater part were familiar to his ear, but many of them 
that meant one thing in Gipsy, had quite a dijQTerent signi- 
fication in his speech. I shall, however, give the following 
Gipsy words, with the corresponding words of Lobb's lan- 
guage, and the English opposite.* 



SCOTTISH GIPSY. 


JOHN LOBBS HINDOSTANEI 


!. ENGLISH. 


Baurie, great, grand, Bura, 


Grand, good, great, 

rich. 
Grand, good, great, 


I iOIi. 

Been, great, grand, 


, Beenie, 


rich. 




rich. 


Callo, 


Kala, 


Black. 


Lon, 


Loon, 


Salt. 


Gourie, a naan. 


Gowra, 


White man. 


Gaygie, a man. 


Gaugie, or Fraugie, 


Rich man. 


Mori, a wife. 


Murgia, 


Dead wife. 


Chavo, 


Chohna, 


A boy, a son 


Fraw, 


Frail), 


Son. 


Prawl, 


Frawl, 


Daughter. 


Nais-gaugie, grand- 


Nais gaugie, 


Old man. 


father. 






Nais-mort^ grand- 


Nais mort. 


Old woman. 


mother. 






Riah, 


Riah, 


A chief, a gentleman. 


Rajah, a chief, gov- 


Rajah, 


A chief, a lord. 


ernor. 






Raunie, lady, wife Raunie, 


The wife of a prince. 


of a gentleman. 






Been riah, 


Beenie riah, 


The king. 


Been raunie, 


Beenie raunie, 


The queen. 


Been gourie. 


Beenie gourie, 


A gentleman. 


Bauree rajah, 


Bura rajah^ 


The king. 



* Meeting a Bengalee at Peebles, begging money to pay his passage back 
to India, I repeated to him, from memory, a few of the Gipsy words I had 
collected a we( k before. After listening attentively, he answered that it 
was the Moor's language I had got, and gave me the English of pawiie, 
water, and davies, day. I took the lirst opportunity of mentioning this in- 
terview to the (lipsies, observing it was the general opinion tliat tlieir fore- 
fathers came from India. Tliey, however, persisted in their own tradition, 
that they were a tribe of l':thi()pians, which is believed by all the Scottish 
Gipsies. [See pages 113 and yi5. — Ed. J 



A HISTORY OF TEE GIPSIES. 



SCOTTISH GIPSY. JOHN LOBBS' HINDOSTANEE. 


ENGLISH, 


JBaurie raunie, 


Bura 7-aunie, 


The queen. 


Laurie forest^ 


Bur a frosi, bura 
ma look, 


Great town. 


Baurie paunie, 


Bura paunie, 


The sea, the great 
water. 


Lon paunie. 


Loon paunie. 


Salt water, the ocean. 


Grye, 


Ghora, 


Horse. 


Francie, 2l horse. 


Praw7icie, 


A gentleman's car- 
riage. 


GourniCy 


Goroo, 


A cow. 


Backra, 


Buckra, 


A sheep. 


Sherro, 


Sir, 


Head. 


Yak, 


Aukh, 


Eye. 


Taka, 


Aukha, 


Eyes. 


Nak, 


Nak, 


Nose. 


Mooie, 


Mooihy 


Mouth. 


Chee, 


Jeebh, 


The tongue. 


Chee chee, 


Choopra, 


Hold your tongue. 


Femmelj hand. 


Fingal, 


Ends of the fingers. 


Vast, 


Wast, 


The hand. 


Peerie, 


Peir, 


The foot. 


Gave, 


Gaw, 


Village. 


Kair^ 


Gur, 


A house. 


Wautheriz, 


Wandrie, 


Abed. 


Outhrie, a window. 


Outrie, Burvaja. 


A door. 


Eegees, bed clothes, 


, Eegees, 


Bed curtains. 


Shuch-hamie, 


Shuamie, 


A waistcoat. 


Jair-dah, 


Jairda, 


Woman's apron. 


Gawd^ 


Dowglaw, 


A man's shirt. 


Teeyakas, 


Teeyaka, 


Shoes. 


Scaf, a hat. 


Scaf, a small piece 


of cloth tied around 




the head, like 


a fillet. 


Skews^ 


Skows, 


Platters, jugs. 


Chowrie, 


Choree, 


Knife. 


Harro^ 


Bhoro, 


Sword. 


Sausier, iron. 


Sauspoon, 


Iron pot-lid, iron. 


Mass, 


Mass, 


Flesh. 


Thood, 


Doodh, 


Milk. 


Chizcazin, cheese. 


Chizcaizimy 


Cheese-knife. 


Blaw, meal. 


Blaw, 


Indian corn. 


Flatrin, 


Flatrin, 


Fish of any kind. 


Shavcha^ broth. 


Shoorwa, 


Soup. 


Molzie, 


Mool, 


Wine. 







LANGUAGE. 


833 


SCOTTISH GIPSY. 


JOHN LOBBS' HINDOSTANEE. ENGLISH. 


Romanie, 


whiskey. 


RoTtiinie, 


Spirits, liquor. 


Mumlie, a candle. 


Memhootie, 


Candles. 


Fltifan, 




Floofan, 


Smoking tobacco. 


Yak, 




^9, 


Fire. 


Paunie, 




Paunie, 


Water. 


Casiies, 




Co shies. 


Fruit trees. 


Bar, 




Dunbar, 


A stone. 


SonnaMe^ 




Sona, 


Gold. 


Roug^ 




Roopa, 


Silver. 


Chinda, silver. 


Chindee, 


Silver, tin. 


Geeve, 




Guing, 


Wheat. 


Mang, 




Chan, Jung, 


The moon. 


Bumie, 




Boomie, 


To drink. 


Mar, 




Mama, 


To strike. 


Range, 




Rawd, 


Mad. 


Choar, 




Chorna, 


To steal. 


Chor, 




Chor, 


Thief. 


Humff, 




Huff, 


Give me. 


Moolie, death, to die, Moola, 


Dead. 


dead. 








Quad, 




Quid, 


Prison. 


Staurdie, 


prison. 


Staurdee, 


A prison, to confine, 
hold. 


Jaw vree, 




Jowa, 


Go away. 


Auvie, 




Aow, 


Coming, come here. 


Davies, 




Din, 


Day. 


Rat, 




Raut, 


Night. 


Pagrin, 




Paw grin. 


To break. 


Davies-pagrin, 


Dawis-pawgrin, 


Day -break, the mor- 


Klistie, a 


soldier. 


Kleestie, 


nmg. 
Black soldier, Sepoy. 


Nash, deserter. 


Natch, 


To run away. 


Loudriie, 




Loonie, 


A bad woman.* 



My informant understood, he said, two of the dialects of 
Hindostan, the one called the Hindoo, and the other the 
Moors' language. The former, he said, the English in 

* A lady who resided seventeen years in India, already alluded to, men- 
tioned to me that the pronunciation of the Hindoos is broad, like that of 
the Scotch, particularly where the letter a occurs ; and tluit the Scotch 
learn Hindostanee sooner, and more correctly, than the natives of other 
countries. For this reason, I am inclined to think that the Scottish Gipsy 
will have a greater resemblance to Hindostanee than the Gipsy of some 
other countries. 



334 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

India generally spoke, but understood little of the latter ; 
and that he himself did not know a word of the language 
of the Brahmins. When he failed to produce, in the Moors' 
language, the word corresponding to the Gipsy one, he fre- 
quently found it in what he called the Hindoo speech. The 
greater part of the Gipsy words, as I have already men- 
tioned, were familiar to his ear ; but many of them that 
signified one thing in his speech, meant quite another in 
Gipsy. For example, the word Graunagie, in Gipsy, signifies 
2iharn; with Lobbs, it meant an old rich man. Coories^ 
bed clothes or blankets, signified, in Lobb's dialect, ornaments 
for the ears. Dill, a servant maid, according to Lobbs, 
was a church. Shan davies, a bad day, was the Hindos- 
tanee for holiday. Managie, a woman, signifies the 7ia?ne 
of a _person, such as John or James. Chavo, a son, meant 
a female child ; and PooJdie, hulled barley, anything 
■fine. The two Gipsy words Callo and Rat are black and 
night ; but, according to Lobbs, Callorat is simply anything 
dark.* 

To confirm my collection of Scottish Gipsy words, I will 
collate some of those which I sent to Sir Walter Scott, for 
examination but not for publication, with those to be found 
in Mr. Baird's report, a publication which I first saw in 
1842. 

SCOTTISH GIPSY. TETHOLM GIPSY, ENGLISH. 

Oougie^ Gadge, Man. 

Managie, Manishee, Woman. 

Mort, Wife. 

Chavo,(ckauvies, chi\- Shavies, children, Son. 
dren,) 

* In the report of the Fourteenth Gipsies' Festival, held at Southampton, 
under the superintendence of the Rev. James Crabb, the Gipsies' friend, on 
the 25th December, 1841, is the following statement: 

" The above gentleman, (the Rev. J. West, one of the speakers at the 
festival,) with the Rev. Mr. Crabb, and two elderlj- Gipsies, who speak the 
Gipsy languag-e, called, the following morning, on a lady who had long 
resided in India, and speaks the Hindostanee language ; and it was clear 
that many of the Rommany (Gipsy) words were pure Hindostanee, and 
other words strongly resembled that language." — Hampshire Advertiser, 
1st January, 184'2. 

This statement, made some years subsequent to the period at which I 
took down the words from Lobbs and the Gipsies in Scotland, is nearly in 
my own words, and proves that my opinion, as to the close affinit}- between 
Hindostanee and the Scottish Gipsy language, is correct. 





LANGUAGE. 




SCOTTISH GIPSY. 


TETHOLM GirST. 


ENGLISH. 


Praw^ 


Goure, a 


boy, 


Son. 


Prawi, 


Backle, a 


' gii'l, 


Daughter. 


Biah, 


Bai, a gentleman, 


A chief. 


Pajah^ 






Governor. 


Baurie^ 


Bare, 




Good. 


Sherroj 


Shero, 




Head. 


Yak, 


Yack, 




Eye. 


Yaka, 






Eyes. 


Nak, 


Nak, 




Nose. 


Mooie^ 


Moi, 




Mouth. 


Vast, 


Vasiie, 




Hand. 


Grye, 


Gral, 




Horse. 


Bashanie^ 


Basne, 




Cock. 


Caunie, 


Kanne, 




Hen. 


JDrom, 


Drone, 




Road. 


Gave, 


Gaave, 




Village. 


Graunagie, 






Barn. 


Graunzie, 


Granse, 




Barn. 


Kair, 


Keir, 




House. 


Ouihrie, 






Window. 


rag, 


Yag, 




Fire. 


Thood, 


Thud, 




Milk. 


Mass, 


Mass, 




Flesh. 


Peerie, (or hlawkie,) 


Blakie, 




Pot. 


Paunie, 


PawnS, 




Water. 


Paurie, 






Water. 


Molzie, 


Mill, 




Wine. 


Boy, 


Boy, 




Spoon. 


Nab, 






Horn. 


Chorie, 






Knife. 


Chowrie, 


Choure^ 




Knife. 


Shuha, 


Shohe, 




Coat. 


Scaf, (or gogle,) 


Gogel, 




Hat. 


Harro, 






Sword. 


Beerie, 






Ship. 


Bumie, 


Peevan, 


drinking, 


To drink. 


Choar, 






To steal. 


Chor, 


Tschor, 




Thief. 


Slaurdiey 


Starde, ; 


a jail, 


Prison. 


Moolie, 


Moulian 


, dyinor, 


Death. 


MooUe, 


Moule, to kill, 


I'll kill you. 


Bing, 


Bing, 




The devil 



835 



836 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

The following Scottish Gipsy words appear to have some 
relation to the Sanscrit : 



)TTISH GIPSY. 


SANSCRIT. 




Yag, 


Agnish^ 


Fire. 


Faurie, 


Varni, 


Water. 


Casties, 


Cashth, 


Wood. 


Duff, 


Dhupah^ 


Smoke. 


Sneepa^ 


Sweta, 


White. 


Callo, 


Cala, 


Black. 


Sherro, 


Sira, 


The head. 


Majak, 


Rajah, 


Lord. 


Vast, 


Hastah, 


The hand. 


Praw^ 


Putra, 


Son. 


Gave, or Gan, 


Gramam, 


A village. 


Mar, 


Mar, 


To strike. 


Loudnie, 


Lodha, loved, 


A whore. 



In order to show the relationship of the language of the 
Gipsies in Scotland, England, Germany, Hungary, Spain, and 
Turkey, and the affinity between it and the Persian, Hindos- 
tanee, Sanscrit, Pali, and Kawi, I append a« table containing 
the first ten numerals in all these tongues ; 



LANGUAGE. 



337 



fl 

— • 


s 




1 


1 


^ . 1 1 o . 1 P 1 


1 


o 


?o 1 M 1 1 t 1 1 1 


1 

fl 


s 

(2 






1 

o 


u 1 -S w) - 


fl 

1 


j 




II 


o 

M 
O 




It 


"►J 






i 


.|l| 1 1 ^ 1 t| 


li 


2 
2 


»1 £ 3 1 Mill 


It 


1 


W O ^, fe' flS -S^ « rf- -g 
^- -^ ^ 1 ^p2 Hcg ^ S 4 1 


^5 


o 

M 


III"" I II 


•9 




ad 

is 




II 


slh & 5 1 1 1 1 



.'3 

65 



St3 

II 
•J 



15 



338 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

That the Gipsy language, in Scotland, is intermixed with 
cant, or slang, and other words,is certain, as will appear by the 
specimens I have exhibited.* I am inclined to believe, how- 
ever, that were the cant and slang used by our flash men and 
others carefully examined, much of it would turn out to be 
corrupted Hindostanee, picked up from the Gipsies. I have, 
after considerable trouble, produced, and, I may venture to 
say, faithfully recorded, the raw materials as I found them : 
to separate the other words from the original and genuine 
Gipsy, is a task I leave to the learned philologist. I shall 
only observe, that the way in which the Gipsy language has 
been corrupted is this : That whenever the Gipsies find 
words not understood by the people among whom they 
travel, they commit such to memory, and use them in their 
conversation, for the purpose of concealment. In the Lowlands 
of Scotland, for example, they make use of Gaclic,t Welsh, 
Irish, and French words. These picked-up words and terms 
have, in the end, become part of their own peculiar tongue ; 
yet some of the Gipsies are able to point out a number of 
these foreign words, as distinguished from their own. In 
this manner do the Gipsies carry along with them part of 
the language of every country through which they pass.J 

• It is remarkable, considering how much the habits and occupations of 
the Gipsies bring them in contact with beggars, thieves, and other bad 
and disorderly characters, how few of the slang words used by such per- 
sons have been adopted by them. — Rev. Mr. Raird's Missionary Report to 
the Scottish Church, 1 840. — Ed. 

f Of the Highland Gipsies, I had the following account from a person of 
observation, and highly worthj^ of credit: There are manj- settled in Kin- 
tyre, who travel through the Highlands and Lowlands annually. They 
certainly speak, among themselves, a language totally distinct from either 
Gaelic or Lowland Scotch. — Rlackwood's 2[agazine. — Ed. 

\ " Tnere is reason for supposing that the Gipsies had been wandering in 
the remote regions of Sclavonia, for a considerable time previous to enter- 
ing Bohemia — the first civilized country of Europe in which they made 
their appearance; as their language abounds with words of Sclavonic 
origin, which could not have been adopted in a hasty passage through a 
wild and half populated country." — Borroio. 

That the Gipsies were, in some way, drawn together, at a very remote 
age, and became amalgamated, so as to form a race, can hardly admit of a 
doubt. But it is an opinion that has no reasonable foundation which sup- 
poses that they suddenly took their departure from India, and travelled 
together, till they entered and spread over Europe. The}' may, as I have 
conjectured in the Introduction, have separated into bands, and passed into 
countries in Asia, as the}' have done in Europe ; and existed in Asia, and 
Africa, long before they appeared in Europe. For this reason, their lan- 
guage ought to vary in different countries ; and it would be enough to 



LANGUAGE. 339 

In concluding mv account of the Scottish Gipsy language, 
I may observe, that I think few who have perused my de- 
tails will hesitate for a moment in pronouncing tliat the 
people have migrated from Hindostan. Many convincing 
proofs of the origin of the race have been adduced by Grell- 
mann, Hoyland, and Bright ; and I think that my researches, 
made in Scotland alone, have confirmed tlie statements of 
these respectable authors. 

The question which now remains to be solved is this : 
From what tribe or nation at present in, or originally from, 
Hindostan are the Gipsies descended? That they have 
been a robber or predatory nation, from principle as well 
as practice, I am convinced little doubt can be entertained. 
Even yet, the greater the art and address displayed in com- 
mitting a dexterous theft or robbery, the higher is the merit 
of such an action esteemed among their fraternity. I am 
also convinced that this general, or national, propensity to 
plunder has been the chief cause of the Gipsies concealing 
their origin, language, customs, and religious observances, 
at the time they entered the territories of civilized nations, 
and up to this time. The intelligent old Gipsy whose ac- 
quaintance I made at St. BoswelFs distinctly told me, that 
his tribe were originally a nation of thieves and robbers ; 
and it is quite natural to suppose that, when they found 
theft and robbery punished with such severity, in civilized 
society, everything relating to them would be kept a pro- 
found secret. 

The tribe in India whose customs, manners, and habits 
have the greatest resemblance to those of the Gipsies, are 
the Nuts, or Bazegurs ; an account of which is to be found 
in the 7th volume of the Asiatic Researches, page 451. In 
Blackwood's Magazine we find the following paragraph rela- 
tive to tliese Nuts, or Bazegurs, which induces a belief that 
these people are a branch of the Gipsy nation, and a tribe 
of the highest antiquity. They are even supposed to be the 
wild, aboriginal inhabitants of India. 

identify them as the same race, were the substance of their language, and 
their customs, or even their cast of mind, the same. In speaking of the 
Hungarian Gipsies, Grelhnann says, that thoir speech contains words from 
the Turkish, Sclavoiiian, Greek, Latin, Walhidiian, Hungarian, and German ; 
but that it would not be absurd to pronounce that there remain more, or at 
least different, Gipsy words among those residing in «ne country than an- 
other, — Ed. 



840 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

"A lady of rank, who has resided some time in India, 
lately informed me that the Gipsies are to be found there, 
in the same way as in England, and practise the same arts of 
posture-making and tumbling, fortune-telling, stealing, and 
so forth. The Indian Gipsies are called Nuts, or Bazegurs, 
and they are believed by many to be the remains of an 
aboriginal race, prior even to the Hindoos, and who have 
never adopted the worship of Bramah. They are entirely 
different from the Farias, who are Hindoos that have lost 
caste, and so become degraded." 

The Nuts, or Bazegurs, under the name of Decoits or 
Dukyts, are, it seems, guilty of frequently sacrificing victims 
to the goddess Calie, under circumstances of horror and 
atrocity scarcely credible. Now the old Gipsy, who gave 
me the particulars relative to the Gipsy sacrifice of the 
horse, stated that sometimes both woman and horse were 
sacrificed, when the woman, by the action of the horse, was 
found to have greatly offended. 

In the ordinances of Menu, the Nuts, or Bazegurs, are called 
Nata. Now, our Scottish Gipsies, at this moment, call 
themselves Naivkens, a word not very dissimilar in sound to 
Nata. When I have spoken to them, in their own words, 
I have been asked, " Are you a nawken .?" a word to which 
they attach the meaning of a ivaTiderer, or traveller — one 
who can do any sort of work for himself that may be re- 
quired in the world. 



CHAPTER X. 

PRESENT CONDITION AND NUMBER OF THE GIPSIES IN 
SCOTLAND. 

<^' Every author who has written on the subject of the Gip- 
sies has, I believe, represented them as all having remark- 
ably dark hair, black eyes, and swarthy complexions. This 
notion has been carried to such an extent, that Hume, on the 
criminal laws of Scotland, thinks the black eyes should 
make part of the evidence in proving an individual to be of 
the Gipsy race. The Gipsies, in Scotland, of the last cen- 
tury, were of all complexions, varying from light flaxen hair, 
and blue eyes, and corresponding complexions, to hair of 
raven black, dark eyes, and swarthy countenances. Many 
of them had deep-red and light-yellow hair, with very fair 
complexions. I am convinced that one-half of the Gipsies 
in Scotland, at the present day, have blue eyes, instead of 
black ones. According to the statistical account of the 
parish of Borthwick, Mid-Lothian, (1839,) the Baillies, Wil- 
sons, and Taits, at Middleton, the descendants of the old 
Tweed-dale Gipsies, are described as, " in general, of a 
colour rather cadaverous, or of a darkish pale ; their cheek- 
bones high ; tlieir eyes small, and liglit coloured ; their hair 
of a dingy white or red colour, and wiry ; and their skin, 
drier and of a tougher texture than that of the people of 
this country." This question of colour has been illustrated 
in my enquiry into the liistory of tlie Gipsy language ; for 
the language is tlic only satisfactory thing by which to test 
a Gipsy, let his colour be what it may. 

In other countries, besides Scotland, tlie Gipsies are not all 
of one uniform swarthy hue. A Russian gentleman stated 
to me that many of the Gipsies in Finland have liglit hair, 
and fair complexions. I am also informed there arc Gipsies 
in Arabia with fair hair. 

(341) 



842 A niSTOnT OF THE GIPSIES. 

Among many other mal-practices, the Gipsies have, in all 
countries, been accused of stealing children ; but what be- 
came of these kidnapped infants, no one appears to have 
given any account, that I am aware of. To satisfy myself 
on this trait of their character, I enquired of a Gipsy the 
reasons which induced his tribe to steal children. He can- 
didly acknowledged the practice, and said that the stolen 
children were adopted as members of the tribe, and in- 
structed in the language, and all the mysteries of the body. 
They became, he said, equally hardy, clever, and expert in 
all the practices of the fraternity. The male Gipsies were 
very fond of marrying the stolen females. Some of the kid- 
napped children were made servants, or, rather, a sort of 
sla,ves, to the tribe. They considered that the occasional 
introduction of another race into their own, and mixing the 
Gipsy blood, in that manner, invigorated and strengthened 
their race. In this manner would the Gipsies alter the 
complexion of their race, by the introduction of foreign 
blood among them."^ 

* An objection is perhaps started, that these incorporated individuals are 
not Gipsies. They have been brought into the body at such an age as to 
leave no trace of past recollections, leaving alone past associations. There 
was no occasion for such children being either " squalling infants," or of 
such an age as was likely to lead them to " betray the Gipsies," as Mr. 
Borrow supposes would be the case, when he says that Gipsies have never 
stolen children, to bring them uji as Gipsies. How are the}^ to discover 
their origin, when so many of the body around them have the same colour 
of hair and complexion ? If the idea has ever entered into their imagina- 
tions, it has led to a greater antipathy towards their own race, and attach- 
ment to the tribe, from the special education which they have received to 
those ends. So far as the matter of blood is concerned, they are not what 
may be physiologically called Gipsies ; and, by being married to Gipsies, 
they become doubly attached to the body. What has been said of children 
introduced among the Gipsies, in the way described, applies with infinitely 
greater force to those born of one of such parents. 

Suppose, for instance, that the Spanish race was originally of an exclu- 
Bively dark hair and complexion : should we therefore say that a fair 
Spaniard, at the present day, was no Spaniard ? Or that the Turks of Con- 
stantinople, on account of the mixture of their blood, were not Turks ? In 
the same manner are Gipsies with white blood in their veins Gipsies. They 
may be half-breed, but it would be improper to call them half-caste, Gipsies. 
But what are full-blood Gipsies, to commence with ? The idea itself is in- 
tangible ; for, by adopting, more or less, wherever they have been, others 
into their body, during their singular history, a pure Gipsy, like the pure 
Gipsy language, is doubtless nowhere to be found. 

An English Gipsy acquaintance, of perfect European appearance, who, 
for love of race and language, may be termed " a Gipsy of the Gipsies," 
admitted that he was only one-eighth Gipsy ; his father, a fuU-blood white, 



MODERF SCOTTISH GIPSIES. 343 

Before going into details to show the condition in which 
the Gipsies are at the present day, I will consider, shortly, 
the causes which have contributed to the cliange that has 
come over their outward circumstances, and driven so many 
of them, as it were, " to cover," in consequence of the unfor- 
tunate times on which they had fallen ; a state of things 
which, however unfortunate to them, in their peculiar way 
of thinking, has been of so much benefit to civilization, and 
society at large. 

About the commencement of the American war of in- 
dependence, in 1775, the Gipsies, in Scotland, occupied a very 
singular position in society. Instead of being the proscribed, 
and, as tliey thought, persecuted, members of the community, 
many of them then became the preservers of the peace and 
good order of the country. The country, as appears by the 
periodical publications of tlie day, was, about this time, 
greatly pestered by rogues and vagabonds. The Gipsies 
had art enough to get a number of tlieir chiefs appointed 
constables, peace-ofl&cers, and country -heepers, in several 
counties in Scotland. These public officers were to clear 
the country of all idle vagrants, vagabonds, and disturbers 
of the peace. Tliis was, sure enough, a very extraordinary 
employment for the Gipsies. Tlie situation of country- 
keeper was, of all others, the office in society the most corn- 
having married a quadroon Gipsy. He spoke Gipsy with great fluency. 
He married a seven-eighths Gipsy. Were his descendants to marry what 
are supposed to be pure Gipsies, the result woukl be as follows: The first 
generation, (his children,) would be one-half Gipsy ; the second, three- 
fourths ; the third, seven-eighths ; the fourth, fifteen-sixteenths ; the fifth, 
thirty-one thirty-seconds; and the sixth, sixty-three sixty -fourths. If this 
were to go on ad infinitum, the issue would always lack the one part to 
make the full blood. But the Gipsies do not calculate their vulgar fractions 
80 closely as that ; the division of the blood doubtless bothers them, so that 
they "lump" the question. What has been said, is breeding ?</). Some- 
times they breed down, and sometimes acrosn. Mixing the blood, in tliis 
way, is quite a peculiarity among the English Gipsies. I asked my friend, 
if he was sure liis wife was a pure Gipsy. He said she was considered 
Buch, (I have put her down at seven-eighths,) but that one of her forefathers 
was a fair-haired French Gipsy. According to a well-admitted principle in 
physiology, a fair-haired Gipsy, of almost full blood, is by no means so rara 
avis in terris as a white crow. Some of the cliildren of my acquaintance 
took after himself, and had blue eyes ; and others after the mother, and 
had black ones. But the Knglish (lipsies, (the tented ones at least.) are 
much purer, in point of blood, than their brethren in ^^cotlnnd. Many of 
the Irish Gipsies have very red hair — fier}^ and sliagiiy in the extreme. 
Indeed, they seem to be pretty much all of a fairish kind. — Ei>. 



344 A EISTOUY OF TEE GIPSIES. 

pletely to their liking. It gave them authority over every 
rogue in the country, and they certainly followed out their 
instructions to the very letter. They hunted down, with 
the utmost vigilance, every delinquent who was not of their 
tribe ; but, on the other hand, they took especial care to 
protect every individual of their own fraternity, excepting 
those that were obnoxious to themselves. When it agreed 
with their inclinations, these Gipsy country-keepers some- 
times caused stolen property to be returned to the owners, as 
if it had been done by magic. It is needless to observe that 
they were themselves the very chiefs of the depredators, but 
had generally the dexterity never to be seen in the trans- 
actions.* 

A Gipsy country-keeper was at the height of his vanity 
and glory, when he got an unfortunate individual of the 
community into his clutches. In the presence of his captive, 
he would draw his sword, flourish it in the air, and swear a 
terrible oath, that he would, at a blow, cut the head from 
his body, if he made the least attempt at escape. 

The public services of the Gipsies were in a short time 
discontinued, as their conduct only made matters a great 
deal worse. A friend of minef saw those Gipsy constables, 
for Peebles-shire, sworn into office, at the town of Peebles, 
when they were first appointed. He said he never saw 
such a set of gloomy, strange-looking fellows, in his life ; 
and expressed his surprise at the conduct of the county 
magistrates, for employing such banditti as conservators of 
the public peace. The most extraordinary circumstance 
attending their appointment, he said, was, that not one of 
them had a permanent residence within the county. 

During the American war, however, the tide of fortune 
again completely turned against the Gipsies. The Govern- 
ment was in need of soldiers and sailors ; the Gipsies were 
a proscribed race ; their peculiar habits Avere continually 

* The following extract from the Fife Herald, for the 18th June, 1829, 
will give the reader an idea of a Scotch " country-keeper," at the time 
alluded to : "A Gipsy chief, of the name of Pat. Gillespie, was keeper for 
the county of Fife. He rode on horse-back, armed with a sword and pistols 
attended by four men, on foot, carrj'ing staves and batons. He appears to 
have been a sort of travelling justice of the peace. The practice seems to 
have been general. About the conmiencement of tlie late French war, a 
man, of the name of Robert Scott, (Rob the Laird,) was keeper for the coun- 
ties of Peebles, Selkirk, and Roxburgh." 

f The late Mr. Charles Alexander, tenant of Happrew. 



MODERN SGOTTISn GIPSIES. 34.5 

involving them in serious scrapes and difficulties ; the con- 
sequence was, that the Tinklers were apprehended all over 
the country, and forced into our fleets and armies then 
serving in America. All the aged persons of intelligence 
with whom I have conversed on this subject, agree in repre- 
senting that the kidnapping system at that period was the 
means of greatly breaking up and dispersing the Gipsy 
bands in Scotland. From this blow these unruly vagrants 
have never recovered their former position in the country."^ 

The war in America had been concluded only a few years 
before that with France broke out. Our army and navy 
were, of necessity, again augmented to an extent beyond 
precedent. It was not difficult to find pretences for renew- 
ing the chase of the Gipsies, and apprehending them, under 
the name of vagrants and disorderly persons. They were 
again compelled to enlist into our regiments, and embark 
on board our ships of war, as sailors and marines. An in- 
dividual stated to me that, about the commencement of this 
war, he had seen English Gipsies sent, in scores at a time, 
on board of men-of-war, in the Downs. 

But, rather than be forced into a service so much against 
their inclinations, numerous instances occurred of Gipsies 
voluntarily mutilating themselves. In the very custody of 
press-gangs, and other hardened kidnappers, the determined 
Gipsies have, with hatchets, razors, and other sharp instru- 
ments, struck from their hands a thumb, or finger or two, 
to render them unfit for a military life. Several instances 
have come to my knowledge of these resolute acts of the 
Scottish Gipsies. I have myself seen several of the tribe 
without fingers ; and, on enquiry, I found that they them- 
selves had struck them from tlieir hands, in consequence of 
their aversion to become soldiers and sailors. One man, of 
the name of Graliam, during the last war, laid his hand upon 
a block of wood, and, in a twinkling, struck, with a hatchet, 
his thumb from one of his hands. Another, of the name 
of Gordon, struck two of his fingers from one of his hands 

* We may very readily believe that almost all of the Gipsies would 
desert the army, on landing in America, and marry Gipsy women in the 
colonies, or bring others out from home, or marry with common natives, 
or return home. Indeed; native-born American Gipsies say that many of 
the British Gipsies voluntarily accepted the bounty, and a passage to the 
colonies, during the war of the Revolution, and dusertcd the army on land- 
ing. This would lead to a migration of the tribe generally to Ameriea. — Ed. 

15* 



846 A HIS TOBY OF THE GIPSIES. 

with a razor. Such, indeed, was the aversion which the 
whole Gipsy race had to a military life, that even mothers 
sometimes mutilated their infants, by cutting off certain fin- 
gers, to render them, when they became men, entirely inca- 
pable of serving in either the army or navy.* 
Such causes as these, taken in connection with the improved 

* " When Paris was syarrisoned by the allied troops, in the year 1815, I 
was walking with a British officer, near a post held by the Prussian troops. 
He happened, at the time, to smoke a cigar, and was about, while passing 
the sentinel, to take it out of his mouth, in compliance with a general regu- 
lation to that effect; when, greatly to the astonishment of the passengers, 
the soldier addressed him in these words ; ' Rauchen Sie immer fort ; ver- 
damt sey der Preussische Dienst ;' that is : * Smoke away ; may the Prussian 

service be d d.' Upon looking closer at the man, he seemed plainly to 

be a Zigeimer, or Gipsy, who took this method of expressing his detestation 
of the duty imposed on him. When the risk he ran, by doing so, is con- 
sidered, it will be found to argue a deep degree of dislike which could make 
him commit himself so unwarily. If he had been overheard by a sergeant 
or corporal, the prugel vfould have been the slightest instrument of punish- 
ment employed." — Sir Walter Scott : Note to Qtcentin Bnrreord. 

Mutilation was also very common among the English Gipsies, during the 
French war. Strange as it may appear, the same took place among them, 
at the commencement of the late Russian war ; from which we may con- 
clude, that they had suffered severely during the previous war, or they 
would not have resorted to so extreme a measure for escaping militarj" duty, 
when a press-gang was not even thought of. An English Gipsy, at the lat- 
ter time, laid two of his fingers on a block of wood, and, handing liis broom- 
knife to Ms neighbour, said, " Now, take off these fingers, or I'll take off 
your head with this other hand !" 

During the French war, Gipsies again and again accepted the bounty 
for recruits, but took " French leave" of the service. The idea is finely 
illustrated in Burns' " Jolly Beggars :" 

*• Tune — Clout the cavdron. 
" My bonny lass, I work in brass, 
A Tinkler is my station : 
I've travell'd round all Christian ground. 

In this my occupation. 
I've ta'en the gold, an' been enroll'd 

In many a noble squadron : 
But vain they search'd when off I march'd 
To go and clout the caudron." 

Poosie Nancie and her reputed daughter, Racer Jess, were very probably 
Gipsies, who kept a poor " Tinkler Howff " at Mauchline. 

Gipsies sometimes voluntarily join the navy, as musicians. Here their 
vanity will have a field for conspicuous display ; for a good fifer, on board 
of a man-of-war, in accompanying certain work with liis music, is equal to 
the services of ten men. There were some Gipsy musicians in the fleet at 
Sebastopol. But, generally speaking, Gipsies are like cats — not very fond 
of the water. — Ed, 



MODERN SGOTTISn GIPSIES. 347 

internal administration of the country, and the progression 
of the age, have cast a complexion over the outward aspect 
of the bulk of the Scottish Gipsy race, entirely different 
from what it w^as before they came into existence. 
^ Many of tlie Gipsies now keep shops of earthen-ware, 
china, and crystal. Some of them, I am informed on the 
best autliority, have from one to eight thousand pounds in- 
vested in this line of business.* I am disposed to think that 
few of these shops were established prior to the commence- 
ment of the French w^ar ; as I find that several of their 
owners travelled the country in their early years. Perhaps 
the fear of being apprehended as vagrants, and compelled 
to enter the army or navy, forced some of the l^ett-er sort to 
settle in towns.f Like their tribe in other countries, num- 
bers of our Scottish Gipsies deal in horses ; others keep 
public-houses ; and some of them, as innkeepers, will, in 
heritable and moveable property, possess, perhaps, two or 
three thousand pounds. These innkeepers and stone-ware 
merchants are scarcely to be distinguished as Gipsies ; yet 
they all retain the language, and converse in it, among 
themselves. The females, as is their custom, are particu- 
larly active in managing the affairs of their respective con- 
cerns. 

Many of them have betaken themselves to some of the 
regular occupations of the country, such as coopers, shoe- 
makers, and plumbers ; some are masons — an occupation to 
wliich they seem to liave a partiality. Some of them are 
members of Masons^ Lodges. There are many of them itin- 
erant bell-hangers, and umbrella-menders. Among them 
there are tin-smiths, braziers, and cutlers, in great numbers ; 
and the tribe also furnish a proportion of chimney-sweeps. 
I recollect of a Gipsy, who travelled the country, selling 

(/ * Mr. Borrow mentions having observed, at a fair in Spain, a family of 
Gipsies, rielily dressed, after the fasliion of their nation. They had come 
a distance of upwards of a hundred leagues, Some merchants, to wliom hp 
was recommended, informed liim, that tlicy had a credit on their hoijse, tO 
the amount of twenty thousand dollars. — Ed. 

f In his enquiry into the present condition qf tl^e Gipsies, our author 
has ai)parently confined his remarks exclusiyciy to tlic body in its present 
wandering state, and sucli part of it as luft the tent subsequently to the 
commencement of the French war. In the Disquisition on the (Jipsies, Iho 
subject will be fully j-evie>yed, from the date of arrival of the race in tljo 
country. — Ed. 



348 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

earthen-ware, becoming, in the end, a master-sweep. Several 
were, and I believe are, constables ; and I am inclined to 
think that the police establishments, in large as well as 
small towns, contain some of the fraternity.^ Individuals 
of the female Gipsies are employed as servants, in the fami- 
lies of respectable persons, in town and country. Some of 
them have been ladies' maids, and even house-keepers to 
clergymen and farmers.f I heard of one, in a very re- 
spectable family, who was constantly boasting of her ancient 
and high descent ; her father being a Baillie, and her 
mother a Faa — the two principal families in Scotland. 
Some of those persons who sell gingerbread at fairs, or 
what the country-people call roivly-poiuly-men, are also of 
the Gipsy race. Almost all these individuals hawking earth- 
en-ware through the country, with carts, and a large pro- 
portion of those hawking japan and white-iron goods, are 
Gipsies. 

Some of the itinerant venders of inferior sorts of jewelry, 
part of which they also manufacture, and carry about in 
boxes on their shoulders, are of the tribe ; and some of 
them even carry these articles in small, handsome, light- 
made carts. I had frequently observed, in my neighbour- 

* This is quite common. An Enojlish mixed Gipsy spontaneously in- 
formed me that he had been a constable in L , and that he had a cousin 

who was lately a nmner in the police establishment of M . Among 

other motives for the Gipsies joining the police is the following : that such 
is their dislike for the people among whom they live, owing to the preju- 
dice which is entertained against them, that nothing gives them greater 
satisfaction than being the instruments of affronting and punishing their 
hereditary enemies. Besides this, the lounging and idle kind of life, coup- 
led with the activity, of a constable, is pretty much to their natural dispo- 
sition. An intelligent mixed Gipsy is calculated to make a first-rate con- 
stable and thief- catcher. Of course, he will not be very hard on those of 
his own race who come in his way. — Ed, 

•{• Our author frequently spoke of a dissenting Scottish clergyman having 
been married to a Gipsy, but was not aware, as far as I know, of the cir- 
cumstances under which the marriage took place. The clergyman was not, 
in all probability, aware that he was taking a Gipsy to his bosom ; and as 
little did the public generally ; but it was well known to the initiated that 
both her father and mother had cut and divided many a purse. The un- 
questionable character and standing of the father, and the prudent conduct 
of the mother, protected the chUdien. One of the daughters married an- 
other dissenting clergyman, which fairly disarmed those not of the Gipsy 
race of any prejudice towards the grand-children. The issue of these 
marriages would pass into Gipsydom, as explained in the Disquisition on 
the Gipsies, — Ed. 



MODERN SCOTTISH GIPSIES. 349 

/Jiood, a very smart-looking and well-dressed man, wlio, with 
his wife and family, and a servant to take care of his cliil- 
dren, travelled the country, in a neat, light cart, selling 
jewelry. All the family were well dressed. I was curious 
to know the origin of this man, and, upon enquiring of one 
of the tribe, but of a different clan, I found that he was a 
Gipsy, of the name of Robertson, descended from the old 
homers who traversed the kingdom, about half a century 
ago. He still retained the speech, peculiar dance, and man- 
ner of handling the cudgel, the practices and roguish tricks 
of his ancestors. I believe he also practised chain-dropping. 
To show the line of life which some of the descendants of 
the old style of Gipsies are now pursuing, in Scotland, I will 
give the following anecdote, which I witnessed, relative to 
this Gipsy jeweller. 
(^I happened to be conversing, about twenty years ago, 
with four or five individuals, on a public quay in Fifeshire, 
when a smart, well-dressed sailor, apparently of the rank of 
a mate, obtruded himself on our company. He said he was 
" a sailor, and had spent all his money in a frolic, as many 
thoughtless sailors had done ;" and, pulling out a watch, he 
continued, " he would give his gold watch for a mere trifle, 
to supply his immediate wants." One of the company at 
once thought he was an impostor, and told him his watch 
was not gold at all, and worth very little money. " Not 
worth much money !" he exclaimed ; " why, I paid not less 
than ten francs for it, in France, the other day !" At this 
assertion, all present burst out a-laughing at the impostor's 
ignorance in exposing his own trick. " Why, friend," said a 
ship-master, who was one of the company, " a franc is only 
worth tenpence ; so you have paid just eight and four- 
pence for this valuable watch of yours. Do not attempt to 
cheat us in this manner." At finding liimself so completely 
exposed, the villain became furious, and stepping close up to 
the ship-master, with abusive language, chucked liim under 
the chin, to provoke him to fight. I at once perceived that 
tlie feigned sailor was a professional boxer and cudgel- 
ist, and entreated the ship-master not to toucli him, notwith- 
standing his insolence. The "sailor," now disap])ointcd on 
all hands, brandislied liis bludgeon, and retreated back- 
wards, dancing in the Gipsy manner, and twirling his 
weapon before him, till he got his back to a wall. Hero 



350 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

he set all at defiance, with a design that some one should 
strike at him, that he might avenge the affront lie had re- 
ceived. But he was allowed to go away without interrup- 
tion. This man was, in short, Robertson, the Gipsy travel- 
ling jeweller, disguised as a sailor, and a well-known prize- 
fighter. 

Almost all those cheats called thimble-riggers, who infest 
thoroughfares, highways and byways, are also Gipsies, of a 
superior class. I have tried them by the language, and 
found they understood it, as has been seen in my account of 
the Gipsy language. 

I need scarcely say, that all those females who travel the 
country in families, selling articles made from horn, while 
the males practise the mysteries of the tinker, are tliat por- 
tion of the Gipsies who adhere more strictly to their ancient 
customs and manner of life. Some of the principal families 
of these nomadic horner bands have yet districts on which 
none others of the tribe dare encroach. This division of 
the Gipsies are, by superficial observers, considered the only 
Gipsies in existence in Scotland ; which is a great mistake. 
The author of Guy Mannering, himself, seems to have had 
this class of Gipsies, only, in view, when he says, " There are 
not now above five hundred of the tribe in Scotland." 
Those who deal in earthen-ware, and work at the tinsmith 
business, call these horners Gipsies ; and nothing can give 
greater offence to these Gipsy potters and smiths than to 
ask them if they ever made horn spoons ; for, by asking 
them this question, you indirectly call them Gipsies, an ap- 
pellation that alarms them exceedingly."^ 

Since the termination of the long-protracted French war, 
the Gipsies have, to some extent, resumed their ancient man- 
ners ; and many of them are to be seen encamped in the 
open fields. There are six tents to be observed at present, 
for one during the war. To substantiate what I have said 
of the numbers and manners of the nomadic Gipsies since 



* It is only within these forty years that spoon-making from horn became 
a regular trade. It would seem the Gipsies had a monopoly of the business ; 
for I am informed that the first man in Scotland who served a regular ap- 
prenticeship to it was alive, in Glasgow, in 1836. [There is nothing in this 
remark to imply that the manufacturing of spoons, and other articles, from 
horn, may not be monopolized by the Gipsies yet, whatever the way in 
which it may be carried on. — Ed,] 



MODERN SCOTTISH GIPSIES. 351 

the peace, I will give the two following paragraphs, taken 
from the Caledonian Mercury newspaper : 

" Tinklers and vagabonds : The country has been much 
infested, of late years, by wandering hordes of vagabonds, 
who, under pretence of following the serviceable calling of 
tinkers, assume the name and appearance of such, merely to 
extort contributions of victuals, and other articles of value, 
from the country-people, particularly in lonely districts. 
The evil has increased rapidly of late, and calls loudly for 
redress upon those in whose charge the police of the country 
districts is placed. They generally travel in bands, varying 
in number from ten to thirty ; and wherever they pitch their 
camp, the neighbours are certain of suffering loss of cattle 
or poultry, unless they submit to pay a species of black-mail, 
to save themselves from heavier and more irregular contri- 
butions. These bands possess all the vices peculiar to the 
regular Gipsies, without any of the extenuating qualities 
which distinguish these foreign tribes. Unlike the latter, 
they do not settle in one place sufficiently long to attach 
themselves to the soil, or to particular families ; and seem 
possessed of no industrious habits, but those of plunder, 
knavery, and riot. The chief headquarters of the hordes 
are at the caves of Auchmithie, on the east coast of For- 
farshire ; from which, to the wilds of Argyleshire, seems to 
be the usual route of their bands ; small detachments being 
sent off, at intermediate places, to extend the scene of their 
plunder. Their numbers have been calculated by one who 
lives on the direct line of their passage, through the braes 
of Perthshire, and who has had frequent opportunities for 
observation ; and he estimates them at several hundred." — 
22d August, 1829. 

"A horde of Gipsies and vagabonds encamped, last week, 
in a quarry, on the back of the hill opposite Cherry-bank. 
Their number amounted to about thirty. The inhabitants 
in that quarter became alarmed ; and Provost Ross, whose 
mansion is in the vicinity of tlie new settlers, ordered out a 
strong posse of officers from Perth, to dislodge them ; which 
they effected. The country is nc w kept in continual terror 
by these vagabonds, and it will really be imperative on the 
landed proprietors to adopt some decided measure for the 
euppression of this growing evil." — 3cZ October, 1829.* 

* From the numerous enquiries I have made, I am fully satisfied that tho 



852 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

A gentleman informed me that, in the same year, he 
counted, in Aberdeenshire, thirty-five men, women, and chil- 
dren, in one band, with six asses and two carts, for carrying 
their luggage and articles of merchandise. Another indi- 
vidual stated to me, that upwards of three hundred of the 
Gipsies attended the funeral of one of their old females, 
who died near the Bridge of Earn. So late as 1841, the 
sheriff of East Lothian addressed a representation to the 
justices of the peace of Mid-Lothian, recommending a new 
law for the suppression of the numerous Gipsy tents in the 
Lothians. I have, myself, during a walk of two hours, 
counted, in Edinburgh and its suburbs, upwards of fifty of 
these vagrants, strolling about.* 

When I visited St. BoswelFs, I felt convinced, as mentioned 
in the last chapter, that there were upwards of three hundred 
Gipsies in the fair held at that place. Part of them formed 
their carts, laden with earthen-ware, into two lines, leaving a 
space between them, like a street. In the rear of the carts 
were a few small tents, in which were Gipsies, sleeping in 
the midst of the noise and bustle of the market ; and num- 
bers of children, horses, asses, and dogs, hanging around 
them. There were also kettles, suspended from triangles, in 
which victuals were cooking ; and many of the Gipsies en- 
joyed a warm meal, while others at the market had to con- 
tent themselves with a cold repast. In the midst of the 
throng of this large and crowded fair, I noticed, without the 
least discomposure on their part, some of tlie male Gipsies 
changing their dirty, greasy-looking shirts for clean ones, 

greater part of the vagrants mentioned in these notices are Gipsies ; at 
least most of them speak the Gipsy language. [It matters not whether the 
people mentioned are whoU}^ or only partlj- of Gipsy blood ; it is sufficient 
if they have been reared as Gipsies. There are enough of the tribe in the 
country to follow the kind of life mentioned, to the extent the people can 
afford to submit to, without having their prerogatives infringed upon by 
ordinary natives. Where will we find any of the latter who would betake 
themselves to the tent, and follow such a mode of life ? Besides, the Gip- 
sies, with their organization, would not tolerate it ; and far less would they 
allow any common natives, of the lowest class, to travel in their com- 
pany. — Ed.] 

* Owing to such causes as these, many of the Gipsies have been again 
driven into their holes. It is amusing to notice the tricks which some of 
them resort to, in evading the letter of the Vagrant .Act. They generally 
encamp on the borders of two counties, which they will cross — passing 
over into the other — to avoid being taken up: for county otfictrs have no 
jurisdiction over them, beyond the boundaries of their respective shires.— Ed, 



MODERN SCOTTISH GIPSIES. 853 

leaving no covering on their tawny persons, but tlieir 
breeches ; and some of the old females, with bare shoulders 
and breasts, combing their dark locks, like black horses' 
tails, mixed with grey. "Ae whow! look at tliat," ex- 
claimed a countryman to his companion ; and, without wait- 
ing for his friend's reply, he gravely added : " Everything 
after its kind." The Gipsies were, in short, dressing them- 
selves for the fair, in the midst of the crowd, regardless of 
everything passing around them. 

On my return from the English Border, I passed over the 
field where the fair had been held, two days before, and 
found, to my surprise, the Gipsies occupying their original 
encampment. They, alone, were in possession of St. Boswell's 
Green. I counted twenty-four carts, thirty horses, twenty 
asses, and about thirty dogs ; and I thought there were up- 
wards of a hundred men, women, and children, on the spot. 
The horses were, in general, complete rosinantes — as lean, 
worn-out, wretched-looking animals, as possibly could be im- 
agined. The field trampled almost to mortar, by the mul- 
titude of horses, cattle, and sheep, and human beings, at the 
fair ; the lean, jaded and lame horses, braying asses, and 
surly-looking dogs ; the groups of miserable furniture, ragged 
children, and gloomy-looking parents ; a fire, here and there, 
smoking before as many miserable tents — wlien contrasted 
with the gaily-dressed multitude, of both sexes, on the spot, 
two days before — presented a scene unequalled for its 
wretched, squalid and desolate appearance. Any one desirous 
of viewing an Asiatic encampment, in Scotland, should visit 
St. BoswelFs Green, a day or two after tlie fair.* 

The following may be said to be about the condition in 
which the present race of Scottish tinkering Gipsies are to 

* St. Boswell's fair " is the resort of man}'' salesmen of goods, and, in 
particular, of tinkers. Bands of these ver}' peculiar jieople, tlie direct de- 
scendants of the original Gipsies, who so niucli annoyed the country in the 
fift(ienth century, haunt the fair, for the disposal of earthen-ware, horn 
spoons, and tin culinary utensils. They possess, in general, horses and 
carts, and they form their temporary camp by each vhoinHnii his cart uj)- 
side down, and forming a lodgement with straw and bedding beneath. Cook- 
ing is performed outside the cranl, in Gipay fashion. There etndd not. per- 
haps, be witnessed, at the present day, in Britain, a more annising and 
interesting sctme, illustrative of a rude period, than is liere annually ex- 
hibited." — CJianihrrfi' (inzcttrrr of Scotltmd. [This writer is in error as to 
the Gipsies annoying the count ry in the fifteenth century : that occurred 
during the three following centuries. — Ed.] 



854 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

"be found : I visited, at one time, a horde of Gipsy tinsmiths, 
bivouacked by the side of a small streamlet, about half a 
mile from the town of Inverkeithing. It consisted of three 
married couples, the heads of as many families, one grown- 
up, unmarried female, and six half-clad children below six 
years of age. Including the more grown-up members, scat- 
tered about in the neighbourhood, begging victuals, there 
must have been above twenty souls belonging to this band. 
The tinsmiths had two horses and one ass, for carrying 
their luggage, and several dogs. They remained, during 
three cold and frosty nights, encamped in the open fields, 
with no tents or covering, for twenty individuals, but two 
pairs of old blankets.* Some of the youngest children, how- 
ever, were pretty comfortably lodged at night. The band 
had several boxes, or rather old chests, each about four feet 
long, two broad, and two deep, in which they carried their 
white-iron plates, working tools, and some of their infants, 
on the backs of their horses. In these chests the children 
passed the niglit, the lids being raised a little, to prevent 
suffocation. The stock of working tools, for each family, 
consisted of two or three files, as many small hammers, a 
pair of bellows, a wooden mallet, a pair of pincers, a pair of 
large shears, a crucible, a soldering-iron or two, and a small 
anvil, of a long shape, which was stuck into the ground. 

The females as well as the males of this horde of Gipsies 
were busily employed in manufacturing white-iron into 
household utensils, and the clink of their hammers was 

* The Gipsies' supreme luxury is to lie, day and night, so near the fire 
as to be in danger of burning. At the same time, they can bear to travel 
in the severest cold, bare-headed, with no other covering than a torn shirt, 
or some old rags carelessly thrown over them, without fear of catching 
cold, cough, or any other disorder. They are a people blessed wilh an 
iron constitution. Neither wet nor dry weather, heat nor cold, let the ex- 
tremes follow each other ever so close, seems to have any effect upon them. 
— Grelhnann on the IJiiHc/ariari Gipsies. 

Their power of resisting cold is truly wonderful, as it is not uncommon 
to find tliem encamped, in the midst of the snow, in light canvas tents, 
when the temperature is 25 or 30 degrees below freezing point, according 
to Raumer. — Borrow on the Riissian Gipsies. 

It is no uncommon thing to see a poor Scottish Gipsy wrap himself and 
wife in a thin, torn blanket, and pass the night, in the cold of December, in 
the open air, by the wayside. On rising up in the morning, they will 
shake themselves in their rags, as birds of prey, in coming off their perch, 
do their feathers ; make for the nearest public-house, witli, perhaps, their 
last copper, for a gill ; and, like the ravens, go in search of a breakfast, 
wherever and whenever Providence may send it to them. — Ed. 



MODERN SCOTTISH GIPSIES. 355 

heard from daybreak till dark.* The males formed the 
plates into the shapes of the different utensils required, and 
the females soldered and otiierwise completed them, while 
the younger branches of the families presented them for sale 
in the neighbourhood. The breakfast of the band consisted 
of potatoes and herrings, which the females and children 
had collected in the immediate neiglibourhood by begging. 
I noticed that each family ate their meals by themselves, 
wrought at their calling by themselves, and sold their goods 
for themselves. The name of the chief of the gang was 
Williamson, who said he travelled in the counties of Fife 
and Perth. When I turned to leave them, they heaped upon 
me the most fulsome praises, and so loud, that I might dis- 
tinctly hear them, exactly in the manner as those in Spain, 
mentioned by Dr. Bright. 

I have, for many months running, counted above twenty 
Gipsies depart out of the town of Inverkeithing, about ten 
o'clock in the forenoon, every day, on their way to various 
parts of the country ; and I have been informed that from 
twenty to thirty vagrants lodged in this small burgh nightly. 
Some of the bakers declared that the persons who were the 
worst to please with hot rolls for breakfast, were the beg- 
gars, or rather Gipsies, who frequented the place. On one 
occasion, I observed twelve females, without a single male 
among them, decamp out of the town, all travelling in and 
around a cart, drawn by a shagged pony. The whole party 
were neatly attired, some of the young girls having trow- 
sers, with frills about their ankles ; and very few would 
have taken tliem for Gipsies. A large proportion of those 
miserable-looking females, who are accompanied by a num- 
ber of ragged children, and scatter themselves through tli© 
streets, and beg from door to door, are Gipsies. I clo not 
recollect, distressing as the times ever have been, of having 
seen reduced Scotch tradesmen begging in families. I 
remember once seeing a man with a white apron wrapped 
around his waist, his coat off, an infant in his arms, and 

* Some of the itinerant Gipsies, doubtless, use their trades, in a jj^reat 
measure, as a cover for living by means such as society deems very objec- 
tionable. Many of them work hard while they are at it. as in tlie above 
instance, when " the clink of their hammers was heard from daybreak till 
dark ;" and as has been said of those in Tweed-dale — " however early the 
farm servants rose to their ordinary employments, they always found the 
Tinklers at work." — Ed. 



356 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

two others at his feet, accompanied by a dark-looking fellow 
of about twenty, singing through the town mentioned. Tliey 
represented themselves as broken-down tradesmen, and had 
the appearance of having just left their looms, to sing for 
bread ; and many half-pence they received. Suspecting 
them to be impostors, I observed their motions, and soon 
saw them join other vagrants, outside of the town, amono^ 
whom were females. The poor tradesmen were now 
dressed in very substantial drab sur touts. They were 
nothing but a family of Tinklers. They were proceed- 
ing, with great speed, to the next town, to practise their 
impositions on the inhabitants ; and I learned that they 
had, in this manner, traversed several counties in Scotland. 
At a subsequent period, I fell in with another family, con- 
sisting of five children and their parents, driving an ass and 
its colt, near the South Queensferry. Upon the back of the 
ass were two stone-hammers, and two reaping-hooks, placed 
in such a manner as any one, in passing, miglit observe 
them. I enquired where they had been. " We have been 
in England, sir, seeking work, but could find none." Few 
would have taken them for anything but country labourers ; 
but the truth was, they were a family of Gipsies, of the 
well-known name of Marshall, from about Stranraer. Their 
implements of industry, so conspicuously exhibited on the 
back of their ass, was all deception. 

It is only about twenty-five years since tlie Irish Gipsies, 
in bands, made their appearance in Scotland. Many severe 
conflicts they had with our Scottish tribes, before they ob- 
tained a footing in the country. But there is a new swarm of 
Irish Gipsies at present scattered, in bands, over Scotland, 
all acquainted with the Gipsy language. They are a set of 
the most wretched creatures on the face of the earth. A 
horde of them, consisting of several families, encamped, at 
one time, at Port Edgar, on the banks of the Forth, near 
South Queensferry. Tliey had three small tents, two horses, 
and four asses, and trafficked in an inferior sort of earthen- 
ware. On the outside of one of the tents, in the open air, 
with nothing but the canopy of heaven above her, and the 
greensward beneath her, one of the females, like tlie deer 
in the forest, brought forth a child, without either the infant 
or mother receiving tlie slightest injury.* The woman, 

* I know another instance of a Gipsy having- a child in the open fields 



MODERN SCOTTISH GIPSIES. 357 

however, was attended by a midwife from Queensferry, who 
said tliat these Irish Gipsies were so completely covered 
with filth and vermin, that she durst not enter one of their 
tents, to assist the female in labom\ Several individuals 
were attracted to the spot, by the novelty of such an occur- 
rence, in so unusual a place as the open fields. Immediately 
after the child was born, it was handed about to every one 
of the band, that they might look at the " young donkey,'' 
as they called it. In about two days after the accouche- 
ment, the horde proceeded on their journey, as if nothing 
had happened.* 

It took place among the rushes on Stanhope-hangh, on the banks of the 
Tweed. In the forenoon, she was delivered of her child, without the 
assistance of a midwife, and in the afternoon the hardy Gipsy resumed her 
journey. The infant was a daughter, named Mary Baillie. 

[When a Gipsy woman is confined, it is either in a miserable hut or in 
the open air, but always easily and fortunately. True Gipsy-like, for want 
of some vessel, a hole is dug in the ground, which is filled with cold water, 
and the new-born child is washed in it, — Grelhnann, on the Hungarian 
Gipsies. "VVe may readily believe that a child coming into the world under 
the circumstances mentioned, would have some of the peculiarities of a wild 
duck. Mr. Hoyland says that " on the first introduction of a Gipsy child 
to school, he flew like a bird against the sides of its cage ; but by a steady 
care, and the influence of the example of the other children, he soon be- 
came settled, and fell into the ranks." It pleases the Gipsies to know that 
their ancestors came into the world " like the deer in the forest," and, when 
put to school, " flew like a bird against the sides of its cage." — Ed.] 

* This invasion of IScotland by Irish Gipsies has, of late years, greatly 
altered the condition of the nomadic Scottish tribes ; for this reason, that 
as Scotland, no less than any other country, can support only a certain 
number of such people who " live on the road," so man}'' of tlie Scottish 
Gipsies have been forced to betake themselves to other modes of making a 
living. To such an extent has this been the case, that Gipsies, speaking 
the Scottish dialect, are in some districts comparatively rarely to be met 
with, where they were formerly numerous. The same cause may even lead 
to the extinction of the Scottish Gipsies as wanderers ; but as the descen- 
dants of the Irish Gipsies will acquire the Scottisli vernacular in the second 
generation, (a remarkably short period among the Gipsies,) what will then 
I)as8 for Scottish Gipsies will be Irish by descent. The Irish Gipsies are 
allowed, by their English brethren, to speak good Gipsy, but with a broad 
and vulgar accent ; so that the language in Scotland will have a still better 
chance of being preserved. 

England has likewise been invaded by these Irish swarms. The English 
Gipsies complain bitterly of them. " They have no law among them," 
they say ; " they have fairly destroyed J^cotland as a country to travel in; 
if they get a loan of anything from ilie country-jieople, to wrap themselves 
in, in the barn, at night, they will decamp with it in the morning. They 
have brought a disgrace upon the very name of Gii)sy, in Scotland, and are 
heartily disliked by both English and Scotch." " There is a family of Irish 
Gipsies living across the road there, whom 1 would not be seen speaking 



858 A HIS TOUT OF THE GIPSIES. 

But there are Irish Gipsies of a class much superior to 
the above, in Scotland. In 1836, a very respectable and 
■wealthy master- tradesman informed me that the whole of 
the individuals employed in his manufactory, in Edinburgh, 
were Irish Gipsies.* 

The Gipsies do not appear to have been altogether free from 
the crime of destroying their offspring, when, by infirmities, 
they could not be carried along with them in their wander- 
ings, and thereby became an encumbrance to them. It has, 
indeed, been often noticed that few, or no, deformed or 
sickly individuals are to be found among them.t The fol- 
lowing appears to be an instance of something like the prac- 
tice in question. A family of Gipsies were in the habit of 
calling periodically, in their peregrinations over the country, 
at the house of a lady in Argyleshire. They frequently 
^ brought with them a daughter, who was ailing of some lin- 
gering disorder. The lady noticed the sickly cliild, and 
often spoke kindly to her parents about her condition. On 
one occasion, when the family arrived on her premises, she 
missed the child, and enquired what had become of her, and 
whether she had recovered. The father said his daughter 
was " a poor sickly thing, not worth carrying about with 
them," and that he had " made away with her." Whether 
any notice was taken of this murder, by the authorities, is 



to," said a superior English Gipsy; " I hate a Jew, and I dislike an Irish 
Gipsy." But English and Scottish Gipsies pull well together ; and are on 
very friendly terms in America, and frequently visit each other. The 
English sympathize with the Scottish, under the wrongs they have ex- 
perienced at the hands of the Irish, as well as on account of the persecutions 
they experienced in Scotland, so long after such had ceased in England. 

Twenty-five years ago, there were many Gipsies to be found between 
Londonderry and Belfast, following the style of life described under the 
chapter of Tweed-dale and Clydesdale Gipsies. Their names were Docherty, 
McCurdy, McCloskey, McGuire, McKay, Holmes, Dinsmore, Morrow, Allan, 
Stewart, Lindsay, Cochrane, and Williamson, Some of these seem to have 
migrated from Scotland and the North of England. — Ed. 

* In England, some of tlie Irish Gipsies send their children to learn 
trades. There are many of such Irish mechanic Gipsies in America. A 
short time ago, a company of them landed in New York, and proceeded on to 
Chicago. Their occupations, among others, were those of hatters and 
tailors. — Ed. 

f They are neither overgrown giants nor diminutive dwarfs ; and their 
limbs are formed in tlie justest proportions. Large bellies are as uncommon 
among them as humpbacks, blindness, or other corporeal defects, — Gnll- 
mann on the Hungarian Gipsies. — Ed. 



u 



MOBEBN SCOTTISH GIPSIES. 359 

not mentioned. The Gipsies, however, are generally noted 
for a remarkable attachment to their children.* 

Several authors have brought a general charge of 
cowardice against the Gipsies, in some of the countries of 
Europe ; but I never saw or heard of any grounds for 
bringing such a charge against the Scottish Gipsies. On 
the contrary, I always considered our Tinklers the very 
reverse of cowards. Heron, in hi& journey through part of 
Scotland, before the year 1793, when speaking of the Gipsies 
in general, says : " They make excellent soldiers, whenever 
the habit of military discipline can be sufiSciently impressed 
upon them." Several of our Scottish Gipsies have even 
enjoyed commissions, as has already been noticed.f But the 

* The Ross-shire xidvertiser, for April, 1842, says : " Gipsy Recklessness. — 
Last week, two Gipsy women, who were begging through the country, each 
with a child on her back, having got intoxicated, took up their lodgings, 
for the night, in an old sawpit, in the parish of Logic- Easter, It is sup- 
posed that they forgot to take the children off their backs, when going to 
rest; for, in the morning, they were found to be both dead, having been 
smothered by their miserable mothers lying upon them through the night. 
One of the women, upon awakening in the morning, called to the other, 
' that her baby was dead,' to which the reply was, ' that it could not be 
helped,* Having dug a hole, they procured some straw, rolled up the 
children in it, put them in the hole, and then filled it up with the earth." 

f Though Gipsies everywhere, they differ, in some respects, in the 
various countries which they inhabit. For example, an English Gipsy, of 
pugilistic tendencies, will, in a vapouring way, engage to thrash a dozen of 
his Hungarian brethren. The following is the substance of what Grell- 
mann says on this feature of their character : 

Sulzer says a Gipsy requires to have been a long time in the army before 
he can meet an enemy's balls with decent soldiers' resolution. They have 
often been employed in military expeditions, but never as regular soldiers. 
In the thirty years' war, the Swedes had a body of them in the army ; and 
the Danes had three companies of them at the siege of Hamburg, in 1686. 
They were chiefly employed in flying parties, to burn, plunder, or lay 
waste the enemy's country. 

In two Hungarian regiments, nearly every eighth man is a Gipsy. In 
order to prevent either them (!) or any others from remembering their descent, 
it is ordered, by the Government, that as soon as a Gipsy joins the regiment, 
he is no longer to be called by that appellation. Here he is placed pro- 
miscuously with other men. But whether he would be adequate to a 
soldier's station — ^unmixed with strangers, in the company of his equals 
only — is very doubtful. He has every outward essential for a soldier, 
yet his innate properties, his levity, and want of foresight, render him 
incompatible for the services of one, as an instance may ilhistrate. 
Francis von Peronyi, who conmianded at the siege of Nagy hia, being 
short of men, was obliged to have recourse to the Gipsies, of whom 
he collected a thousand. These he stationed boliind the entreiichineiits, 
while he reserved his own men to garrison the citadel. The Gipsies sup- 



860 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

military is not a life to their taste, as we have already seen ; 
for, rather than enter it, they will submit to even personal 
mutilation. There is even danger in employing them in our 
regiments at the seat of war ; as I am convinced that, if 
there are any Gipsies in the ranks of the enemy, an im- 
proper intercourse will exist between them in both armies. 
During the last rebellion in Ireland, the Gipsy soldiers in 
our regiments kept up an intimate and friendly correspon- 
dence with their brethren among the Irish rebels.* 

The Scottish Gipsies have ever been distinguished for 
their gratitude to those who treated them with civility and 
kindness, during their progress through the country. The 

ported the attack with so much resolulion, and returned the fire of the 
enemy with such alacrity, that the assailants — little suspecting who were 
the defendants — were compelled to retreat. But the Gipsies, elated with 
victory, immediately crept out of their holes, and cried after them, " Go, 
and be hanged, you rascals ! and thank God that we had no more powder 
and shot, or we would have played the devil with you !" " What !" they 
exclaimed, bearing in mind the proverb, "You can drive fifty Gipsies be- 
fore you with a wet rag," "What! are you the heroes ?" and, so saj'ing. the 
besiegers immediately wheeled about, and, sword in hand, drove the black 
crew back to their works, entered them along with them, and in a few 
minutes totally routed them. — Ed. 

* A Gipsy possesses all the properties requisite to render him a fit agent 
to be employed in traitorous undertakings. Being necessitous, he is easily 
corrupted ; and his misconceived ambition and pride persuade him that he 
thus becomes a person of consequence. He is, at the same time, too incon- 
siderate to reflect on danger ; and, artful to the greatest degree, he works 
his way under the most difficult circumstances. Gipsies have not only 
served much in the capacity of spies, but their garb and manner of life 
have been assumed by military and other men for the same purpose. — 
Grellmann on the Hungarian Gipsies. 

Mr. Borrow gives a very interesting description of a meeting of two 
Gipsies, in a battle between the Fi'ench and Spaniards, in the Peninsula, 
in Bonaparte's time. In the midst of a desperate battle — when everything 
was in confusion — sword to sword and bayonet to bayonet — a French sol- 
dier singled out one of the enemy, and, after a severe personal contest, got 
his knee on his breast, and was about to run his bayonet through him. 
His cap at this moment fell off, when his intended victim, catching his eye, 
cried, " Zincali, Zincali r at which the other shuddered,, relaxed his grasp, 
smote his forehead, and wept. He produced his flask, and poured wine 
into his brother Gipsy's mouth ; and they both sat down on a knoll, while 
all were fighting around. " Let the dogs fight, and tear each other's 
throats, till they are all destroyed : what matters it to us ? They are not 
of our blood, and shall that be shed for them ?" 

What our author says of there being danger in employing Gipsies in 
time of war has little or no foundation ; for the associations between those 
in the opposite ranks would be merely those of interest, friendship, assist- 
ance, and scenes like the one depicted hy Mr. Borrow. The objection to 
Gipsies, on such occasions, is as applicable to Jews and Freemasons. — Ed. 



MODERN SCOTTISH GIPSIES. 361 

particulars of the following instance of a Oipsy's gratitude 
are derived from a respectable farmer, to whom one of the 
tribe offered assistance in his pecuniary distress. I was 
well acquainted with both of them. The occurrence, which 
took place only about ten years ago, will show that gratitude 
is still a prominent feature in the character of the Scottish 
Gipsy. 

The farmer became embarrassed in his circumstances, in 
the spring of the year, when an ill-natured creditor, for a 
small sum, put him in jail, with a design to extort payment 
of the debt from his relatives. The farmer had always al- 
lowed a Gipsy chief, of the name of , with his family, 

to take up his quarters on his premises, whenever the horde 
came to the neighbourhood. The Gipsy's horse received the 
same provender as the farmer's horses, and himself and fam- 
ily the same victuals as the farmer^s servants. So sure was 
the Gipsy of his lodgings, that he seldom needed to ask per- 
mission to stay all night on the farm, when he arrived. On 
learning that the farmer was in jail, he immediately went to 
see him. When he called, the jailer laughed at him, and, 
for long, would not intimate to the farmer that he wished to 
see him. With tears in his eyes, the Gipsy then told him 
he " would be into the jail, and see the honest man, whether 
he would or not." At last, an hour was fixed when he 
would be allowed to enter the prison. When the time ar- 
rived, the Gipsy made his appearance, with a quantity of 
liquor in his hand, for his friend the farmer. " Weel, man," 
said he to the turnkey, " is this your hour, now ?" being dis- 
pleased at the delay which had taken place. The jailer 
again said to him that he was surely joking, and still re- 
fused him admittance. " Joking, man ?" exclaimed the 
Gipsy, with the tears again glistening in his dark eyes, " I 
am not joking, for into this prison I shall be ; and if it is not 
by the door, it shall be by another way." Observing the 
determined Gipsy quite serious, the jailer at last allowed 
him to see the object of his search. The moment he saw tlie 
farmer, he took hold of both his hands, and, immediately 
throwing his arms around him, burst into tears, and was for 
some time so overcome by grief, that he could not give utter- 
ance to his feelings. Recovering himself, he enquired if it 
was the laird that had ))ut him in prison ; but on being told 
it was a writer, one of his creditors, the Gipsy exclaimed, 
16 



865 A HISTORY OF TUB GIPSIES. 

" They are a d d crew, thae writers * and the lairds are 

little better." With much feeling, he now said to his friend, 
" Your father, honest man, was aye good to my horse, and 
your mother, poor body, was aye kind to me, when I came 
to the farm. I was aye treated like one of their own house- 
hold, and I can never forget their kindness. Many a night's 
quarters I received from them, when others would not suffer 
me to approach their doors.'' The grateful Gipsy now of- 
fered the farmer fifty pounds, to relieve him from prison. 
" We are," said he, " not so poor as folk think we are ;" and, 
putting his hand into his pocket, he added, " Here is part 
of the money, which you will accept ; and if fifty pounds 
will not do, I will sell all that I have in the world, horses 
and all, to get you out of this place." " Oh, my bonnie man," 
continued the Gipsy, " had I you in my camp, at the back 
of the dyke, I would be a happy man. You would be far 
better there than in this hole." The farmer thanked him 
for his kind offer, but declined to accept it. " We are," re- 
sumed the Gipsy, " looked upon as savages, but we have our 
feelings, like other people, and never forget our friends and 
benefactors. Kind, indeed, have your relatives been to me, 
and all I have in this world is at your service." When the 
Gipsy found that his offer was not accepted, he insisted that 
the farmer would allow him to supply him, from time to 
time, with pocket money, in case he should, during his con- 
finement, be in want of the necessaries of life. Before leav- 
ing the prison, the farmer asked the Gipsy to take a cup of 
tea with him ; but long the Gipsy modestly refused to eat 
with him, saying, " I am a black thief-looking deevil, to sit 
down and eat in your company ; but I will do it, this day, 
for your sake, since you ask it of me." The Gipsy's wife, 
with all her family, also insisted upon being allowed to see 
the farmer in prison. f 

* A writer in Scotland corresponds with an attorney in England. It is 
interesting to notice the opinion which the Gipsy entertained of the writers. 
Possibly he had been a good deal worried by them, in connection with the 
conduct of some of his folk. — Ed. 

f There is something singularly inconsistent in the mind of the Gipsies. 
They pride themselves, to an extraordinary degree, in their race and lan- 
guage ; at the same time, they are extremely sensitive to the prejudice that 
exists against them. " We feel." say thej-, " that every other creature 
despises us, and would crush us out of existence, if it could be done. No 
doubt, there are things which many of the Gipsies do not hold to be a 
shame, that others do ; but, on the other iiand, they hold some things to 



MODERN SCOTTISH GIPSIES. 363 

This interview took place in presence of several persons, 
who were surprised at the gratitude and manner of the de- 
termined Gipsy. It is proper to mention that he is con- 
sidered a very honest man, and is a protection to the prop- 
erty of the country-people, wherever he is quartered. He 
sells earthen-ware, through the country, and has, sometimes, 
several horses in his possession, more for pleasure than 
profit, some of which the farmers graze for nothing, as he is 
a great favourite with those who are intimately acquainted 
with him. He is about fifty years of age, about six feet in 
height, is spare made, has small black eyes, and a swarthy 
complexion. He is styled King of the Gipsies, but the coun- 
try-people call him " Terrible," for a by-name. It was said 
his mother was a witch, and many of the simple, ignorant 
people, in the country, actually believed she was one. That 

be a shame which others do not. They have many good points. They are 
kind to their own people, and will feed and clothe them, if it is in their 
power ; and they will not molest others who treat them civilly. They are 
somewhat like the wild American Indians : they even go so far as to des- 
pise their own people who will willingly conform to the ways of the people 
among whom they live, even to putting their heads under a roof. But, 
alas ! a hard necessity renders it unavoidable ; a necessity of two kinds — 
that of making a living under the circumstances in which they find them- 
selves placed, and the impossibility of enforcing their laws among them- 
selves. Let them do what they may, live as they may, believe what they 
may, they are looked upon as everything that is bad. Yet they are a 
people, an ancient and mysterious people, that have been scattered by the 
will of Providence over the whole earth." 

It is to escape this dreadful prejudice that all Gipsies, excepting those 
who avowedly live and profess themselves Gipsies, will hide their race, if 
they can, and particularly so, in the case of those who fairly leave the tent, 
conform to the ordinary ways of society, and engage in any of its various 
callings. While being convoyed by the son of an English Gipsy, whose 
family I had been visiting, at their house, where I had heard them freely 
speak of themselves as Gipsies, and converse in Gipsy, I said, in quite a 
l)leasant tone, " Ah, my little man, and you are a young Gipsy ? — Eh, 
what's the matter ?" " 1 don't wish to be known to the people as a Gipsy." 
His father, on another occasion, said, " We are not ashamed to say to a 
friend that we are Gipsies ; but my children don't like people to be crying 
after them, ' Look at the (Gipsies !' " And yet this family, like all Gipsies, 
were strongly attached to their race and language. It was pitiful to think 
that there was so much reason for them to make snch a complaint. On one 
occasion, I was asked, " If you would not deem it presumptuous, might we 
ask you to take a bite with us ?" " Eat with you ? Why not ?' I replied. 
" What will your peo])le think, if they knew that you had been eating with 
us ? You will lose caste." This was s:iid in a serious manner, but slightly 
tinged with irony. Bless me, I thought, are all our Scottish (4ipsieSj of 
high and low degree, afraid that the ordinary natives would not even eat 
with them, if they knew them to be Gipsies ? — Ed. 



864 A HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

her son believed she possessed supernatural power, will ap- 
pear from the following fact : As some one was lamenting 
the hard case of the farmer remaining in prison, the Gipsy 
gravely said, " Had my mother been able to go to the jail, 
to see the honest man, she possessed the power to set him 
free." 

That numbers of our Gipsies attend the church, and pub- 
licly profess Christianity, and get their children baptized, is 
certain ; and that many of the male heads of principal fam- 
ilies have the appearance and reputation of great honesty 
of character, is also certain. Yet their wives and other 
members of their families are, in general, little better than 
professed thieves ; and are secretly countenanced and en- 
couraged in their practices by many of those very chief 
males, who designedly keep up an outward show of integrity, 
for the purpose of deception, and of affording their plunder- 
ing friends protection. When the head of the family is be- 
lieved to be an honest man, it excites a feeling of sympathy 
for his tribe on his account, and it enables him to step for- 
ward, with more freedom, to protect his kindred, when they 
happen to get into scrapes. I am convinced, could the fact 
be ascertained, that many of the offenders who are daily 
brought before our courts of justice are Gipsies, though 
their external appearance does not indicate them to be of 
that race. 

With regard to the education of our Scottish Gipsies, I 
am convinced that very few of them receive any education 
at all ; except some of those among the superior classes, 
who have property in houses, and permanent residences. A 
Gipsy, of some property, who gave one of her sons a good 
education, declared that the young man was entirely spoiled.* 
It appears, however, that the males of the Yetholm colony 
received such an education as is commonly given to the 
working classes ; but it is supposed there is scarcely such a 
thing as a female Gipsy who has been educated. There 
are, however, instances to the contrary ; and I know one 

* It is well to notice the fact, that by giving a Gipsy child a good educa- 
tion, it became " entirely spoiled," It would be well if we could " spoil" 
all the Gipsies. A thorouo-hly-spoiled Gipsy makes a very good man, but 
leaves him a Gipsy notwithstanding. A " thorough Gipsy" has two mean- 
ings ; one strongly attached to the tribe, and its original habits, or one 
without these original habits. There are a good many " spoiled" Gipsies, 
male a' d female, in Scotland. — Ed. 



MODERN SCOTTISH GIPSIES. 365 

female at least, who can handle her pen with some dex- 
terity.* 

As to their religious sentiments, I am inclined to think 
that the greater part of the Scottish Gipsies are quite indif- 
ferent on the subject. Numbers of tliem certainly attend 
church, occasionally, when at home, in tlieir winter quarters ; 
but not one of them will enter its door when travelling 
through the country.t On Sundays, while resting themselves 
by the side of the public roads, the females employ them- 
selves in washing and sewing their apparel, without any re- 
gard for that sacred day. It appears to me that a large 
proportion of them comply with our customs and forms of 
worship, more for the purpose of concealing their tribe and 
practices, than from any serious belief in the doctrines of 
Christianity. I recollect, however, of once conversing with 
an aged man who professed much apparent zeal in religious 
matters ; and I mind well that he stoutly maintained, in 
opposition to Calvin's ideas on the subject of free grace, 
that everything depended upon our own works. " By my 
works in this life," said he, " I must stand, or fall, in the 
world to come." This very man acknowledged to me that 
the Gipsies were a tribe of thieves. But almost all the Gip- 
sies, when the subject of religion is mentioned to them, affect 
to be very pious ; speak of the goodness of God to them, 

^ * The education and acquirements of the Spanish Gipsies, according to 
Mr. Borrow, are, on the whole, not inferior to those of the lower classes 
of the Spaniards ; some of the young men being able to read and write in 
a manner by no means contemptible; but such never occurs among the fe- 
males. Neglecting females, in the matter of education, is quite in keeping 
with the Oriental origin of the Gipsies. The same feature is observable 
among the Jews ; and the Talmud bears heavily upon Jewish women. 
Every Jew says, in his morning prayer, " Blessed art thou, O Lord, our 
God, King of the Universe, who hast not made me a woman !" And the 
woman returns thanks for having been " created according to God's will." 
— Ei). 

f The ostensible reason which the Gipsy gives for not attending church, 
when travelling, is to prevent himself being ridiculed by the people. If 
he enters a place of worship, he makes the old people stare, and frightens 
the children. On returning from church, a child will exclaim, " Mother, 
mother, there was a Tinkler at the kirk, to-day." — " A what? a Tinkler at 
the kirk ? What could have possessed him to go there ?'' 

Gipsies are extremely sensitive to the feeling in question. A short time 

ago, one of them entered , in the State of , with a " shears to 

grind," having a small bell attached. Some bar room gentry assembled 
around him, and saluted him with, "Oh, oh, a Gips}' in a new rig!" So 
keenly did he feel the insult, that he at once left the village. — Ed. 



366 A BISTORT OF THE GIPSIES. 

with much apparent sincerity ; lament the want of educa- 
tion ; and reprobate, in strong terms, every act of immoral- 
ity. This, I am sorry to say, is, in general, all hypocrisy 
and deception. There is not a better test, in a general way, 
for discovering who are Gipsies, than the expression of " God 
bless you," which is constantly in the mouth of every fe- 
male.*^ 

With regard to the general politics of the Scottish Gip- 
sies, if they entertain any political sentiments at all, I am 
convinced they are monarchical ; and that, were any revo- 
lutionary convulsion to loosen the bonds of society, and 
separate the lower from the higher classes, they would take 
to the side of the superior portion of the community. They 
have, at all times, heartily despised the peasantry, and been 
disposed to treat menials with great contempt, though, at 
the very moment, they were begging at the doors of their 
masters. In the few instances which have come to my 
knowledge, of Scottish Gipsies forming matrimonial connex- 

* According to Grellmann, the Gipsies did not bring any particular reli- 
gion with them from their own country, but have regulated it according to 
those of the countries in which they have lived. They suffer themselves to 
be baptized among Christians, and circumcised among Mahommedans. They 
are Greeks with Greeks, Catholics with Catholics, Protestants with Protes- 
tants, and as inconstant in their creed as their place of residence. They 
suffer their children to be several times baptized. To-daj^, they receive the 
sacrament as a Lutheran ; next Sunday, as a Catholic ; and, perhaps before 
the end of the week, in the Reformed Church. The greater part of them 
do not go so far as this, but live without any religion at all, and worse than 
heathens. So thoroughly indifferent are they in this respect, as to have 
given rise to the adage, " The Gipsy's chiircli was built of bacon, and the 
dogs ate it." So perfectly convinced are the Turks of the insincerity of 
the Gipsy in matters of religion, that, although a Jew, by becoming a 
Mahommedan, is freed from the payment of the poll-tax, a Gipsy — at least in 
the neighbourhood of Constantinople — is not, even although his ancestors, 
for centuries, had been Mahommedans, or he himself should actually have 
made a pilgrimage to Mecca. His onh' privilege is to wear a white turban, 
which is denied to unbelieving Jews and Gipsies. 

Mr. Borrow saj^s, that when the female Gipsies, who sing in the choirs 
of Moscow, were questioned, in their own language, about their externally 
professing the Greek religion, they laughed, and said it was only to please 
the Russians. 

The same author mentions an instance in which he preached to them ; 
taking, for his text, the situation of the Hebrews in Egj-pt, and drawing a 
comparison between it and theirs in Spain. Warming with his subject, he 
spoke of the power of God in preserving both, as a distinct people, in the 
world, to this day. On concluding, he looked around to see what impres- 
sion he had made upon them, but the only response he «:ot from thorn all 
■was — a squint of the eye ! — Ed. 



2[0DERN SCOTTISH GIPSIES. 3G7 

ions with individuals of the commimity, those individuals 
were not of the working or lower classes of society.* 

I believe there are Gipsies, in more or less numbers, in 
almost every town in Scotland, permanent as well as peri- 
odical residenters. In many of the villages there are also 
Gipsy inhabitants. In Mid-Lothian there are great numbers 
of them, who have houses, in which they reside permanently, 
but a portion of them travel in other districts, during the 
summer season. I have been at no ordinary pains and trou- 
ble in making enquiries regarding the number of the Gip- 
sies, and the result of my numerous investigations induces 
me to believe that there are about five thousand of them in 
Scotland, at the present day. Indeed, some of the Gipsies 
themselves entertain the same opinion, and they must cer- 
tainly be allowed to have some idea of the number of their 
own fraternity.f 

It appears to me that the civilization and improvement of 
the body, generally, would be a work of great difficulty. I 
would be apt to give nearly the same answer which a Hun- 
garian nobleman gave to Dr. Bright, when that traveller 
asked him if he could not devise a plan for bettering the 
condition of the race in Hungary. Tlie nobleman said he 
knew of no manner of improving the Gipsies.J The best 
plan yet proposed for improving the race appears to be 

* What our author says of the politics of the Gipsies is rather more ap- 
plicable to their ideas of their social position. Being a small body in 
comparison with the general population of the country, they entertain a 
very exclusive and, consequently, a veiy aristocratic idea of themselves, 
whatever others may think of them ; and therefore scorn the prejudice of 
the very lowest order of the common natives. — Ed. 

f Before the reformation of our criminal law, many of the male Gipsies 
perished on the gallows, but now, the greatest punishment they meet with 
is banishment, or a sliort imprisonment, for " sorning, pickery, and little 
thieving." Few of them are now " married to the gallows tree," in the man- 
ner of Graham, as described under the head of Fifeshlre Gipsies. Owing to 
their, (the more original kind especially,) all marrying very young, and 
having very large families, their number cannot fail to increase, under the 
present laws, in a ratio far beyond that of our own population. Instead of 
there being only 5,000 Gipsies in Scotland, there are, as I have already said, 
nearer 100,000, for reasons to be given in the Disquisition on the Gipsies. 
—Ed. 

X Speaking of the attempted civilization of the Gipsies, by the Empress 
Maria Theresa, Grellmann says, " A boy, (for you must leave the old stock 
alone,) would frequently seem in the most promising train to civilization ; 
on a sudden, his wild nature would appear, a relapse follow, and he become 
a perfect Gipsj- again." 



368 A EISTOBT OF THE GIPSIES. 

the one suggested by the Rev. James Crabb, of Southamp- 
ton, and the Rev. John Baird, of Yetholm.* One of the first 

** Curate — Could you not, by degrees, bring yourself to a more settled 
mode of life ? 

" Gipsy. — I would not tell you a lie, sir ; I really tbink I could not, hav- 
ing been brought up to it from a child." — Hoyland on the English Gipsies. 

The restless desire which the more original kind of Gipsies, and those 
more recently from the tent, have for moving about, is generally gratified 
in some way or other. The poorer class will send their wives and young 
ones to the " grass," in company with the nomadic portion, or to the 
streets in towns. In either case, they have no great occasion to feel un- 
easy about their support ; for she would be a poor wife indeed, if she could 
not forage for herself and " weary bairns." Among other things, she can 
hire herself to assist in disposing of the wares made by another Gipsy. Her 
husband will then work at his calling, or go on the tramp, like some of our 
ordinary mechanics. 

The feeling which mankind in general have for the sweets of the country, 
and the longing which so many of us have to end our days in the midst of 
them, amount almost to a mania with these Gipsies. Frequently will Gip- 
sies, in England, after spending the best part of theij' lives in a settled occu- 
pation, again take to the tent ; while others of them, on arrival in America, 
will buy themselves places, and live on them till seized with the travelling 
epidemic, communicated by a roving company of their tribe accidentally 
arriving in their neighbourhood. Some of the more recently settled class 
of Gipsies, whose occupations do not easily admit of their enjoying the 
pleasure of a country or travelling life, show a great partiality to their 
wandering brethren, however poor, with whom they are on terms of 
intimacy, and especially if they happen to be related. Tlieir children, from 
hearing their parents speak of the " good old times" — the " golden age" of 
the Gipsies — when they could wander hither and thither, with little moles- 
tation, and live, in a measure, at free-quarters, wherever they went, grow 
impatient under the restraint which society has thrown around them ; and 
vent their feelings in abusing that same society, and all the members 
thereof. They envy the lot of these " country cousins." Meetings of that 
kind render these Gipsies, (old as well as young.) irritable, discontented, 
and gloomy : they feel like " birds in a cage," as a Gipsy expressed it. Kot 
unfrequently will a young town Gipsy travel in the company of these 
country relatives, dressed a la Tinklaire, as a relief to the discontentment 
which a restrained and pent-up life creates within him. At other times, 
his parents will know nothing of his movements, beyond his coming home 
to " roost" at night. 

The nomadic class take to winter-quarters in some village, towards the 
close of the year, and fret themselves all day long, till, on the return of 
spring, they can say, " To your tents, O Gipsies !" There is as little direct 
relation existing between the tent and the long-settled Gipsies, as there is 
between it and ordinary Scotch people. But there is that tribal or national 
association connected with it, that is inseparable from the feelings of a 
Gipsy, however high may be the position in life to which he may have 
risen. — Ed. 

* The Fourteenth Annual Festival of the Rev. James Crabb's Association, 
for civilizing and teaching the principles of Christianity to the Gipsies in 
England, was held on the 25th December, 1841. At that time, twenty 



MODERN SCOTTISH GIPSIES. 369 

steps, however, should be a complete publicity to their lan- 
guage, if that was possible ; and encouragement held out to 
them to speak it openly, without fear or reproach. Their 
secret speech is a strong bond of union among them, and 
forms, as it were, a wall of separation between them and 
the other inhabitants of the country. 

Many of the Gipsies, following the various occupations 
enumerated, are not now to be distinguished from others of 
the community, except by the most minute observation ; yet 
they appear a distinct and separate people ; seldom contract- 
ing marriage out of their own tribe."^ A tradesman of 
Gipsy blood will sooner give his hand to a lady's maid of 
his own race, than marry the highest female in the land ; 
while the Gipsy lady's maid will take a Gipsy shoemaker, 
in preference to any one out of her tribe. A Gipsy woman 
will far rather prefer, in marriage, a man of her own blood 
who has escaped the gallows, to the most industrious and 
best-behaved tradesman in the kingdom. Like the Jews, 
almost all those in good circumstances marry among them- 
selves, and, I believe, employ their poorer brethren as ser- 
vants. I have known Gipsies most solemnly declare, that 

Gipsy youths were attending his school. He was very sanguine of ulti- 
mately ameliorating the condition of the British Gipsies. 

At Yetholm, in the same year, after tlie Rev. John Baird's school had 
been in existence about two years, there were about forty Gipsy children 
receiving instruction. When they were educated, they were hired as ser- 
vants to families, or bound apprentices to different trades. 

[I will offer some remarks on the improvement of the Gipsies, in the Dis- 
quisition on the Gipsies. — Ed.] 

* It is a difficult matter to tell some of the settled Scottish Gipsies. In 
searching for them, some regard must be had to the employment of the in- 
dividual, his associations, and his isolation from the community generally, 
beyond what is necessary in following his calling and out-door relations, as 
contrasted with his hospitality to strangers from a distance ; a close scru- 
tiny of the habits of himself and his numerous motley visitors ; the rough- 
and-tumble way in which he sometimes lives ; his attachment to animals, 
Buch as horses, asses, dogs, cats, birds, or pets of any kind ; these, and 
other relative circumstances, go a great way to enable one to pounce upon 
some of them. But the use of their language, and the effect it has upon 
them, (barring their responding to it,) is, at tlie present stage of their his- 
tory, the only satisfactory test. Scottish Gipsy families will geneiallybo 
found to be all dark in their appearance, or all very fair or reddish, or 
partly very fair, and partly very dark, and sometimes dark or fair nonde- 
script. Many of the residentary class of mechanic Gipsies are difficult 
of detection ; so are the better classes, generally, if it is long since their 
ancestors left the tent. — Ed. 



370 A BISTORT OF TEE GIPSIES. 

no consideration would induce them to marry out of their 
own tribe ; and I am informed, and convinced, that almost 
every one of them marries in that way. One of them stated 
to me that, let them be in whatever situation of life they 
may, they all " stick to each other." 

Note. — The reader will observe the tenacity of the Gipsy nation- 
ality, in a mixed, settled, and civilized state, as described by the 
author. By some it may be called remarkable, even wonderful, per- 
haps by others miraculous ; and yet, how could these people be, by 
the ordinary laws of nature, other than Gipsies ? 

Here we liave ethnology on its legs — a wild Oriental race, dropt 
into the midst of all the nations of Europe, and legally and socially 
proscribed by them, yet drawing into their body much of the blood 
of other people and incorporating it with their own, and assimilat- 
ing to the manners of the countries in which they live ; sometimes 
threading their way by marriage through native families, and main- 
taining their identity, in a more or less mixed state, in the world, 
notwithstanding their having no religion peculiar to themselves, 
like the Jews,, as illustrated in the following Disquisition. 

In this long treatise, what constitutes a Gipsy is more than once 
stated, on purpose, to keep the cardinal idea before the mind of the 
reader ; while some of the other subjects discussed are taken up, 
then dropped, and again considered, in other of their aspects, on 
more appropriate occasions. — ^Ed. 



A DISQUISITION ON THE PAST, PRESENT, AND 
FUTURE OF GIPSYDOM. 



" There is nothing hid that shall not be revealed." 



In giving an account of the Gipsies, the subject would be 
very incomplete, were not something said about the manner 
in which they have drawn into their body the blood of other 
people, and the way in which the race is perpetuated ; and 
a description given of their present condition, and future 
prospects, particularly as our author has overlooked some 
important points connected with their history, which I will 
endeavour to furnish. One of these impoitant points is, 
that he has confined his description of the present genera- 
tion of settled Gipsies to the descendants of tliose wlio left 
the tent subsequently to the commencement of the French war, 
to the exclusion of those who settled long anterior to that 
time. It is also necessary to treat the subject abstractly — to 
throw it into principles, to give the philosophy of it — to en- 
sure tlie better understanding, and perpetuate tlio knowledge 
of it, amid the shifting objects tliat present themselves to 
the eye of the world, and even of the people described. 

Gipsydom may, in a word, be said to be literally a sealed 
book, a terra incognita^ to mankind in general. The Gipsies 
arrived in Europe a strange race ; strange in their origin, 
appearance, habits and disposition. Supposing that their 
habits liad never led them to interfere with tlie property of 
others, or obtain money by any objectionable way, but that 
they liad confined tlicir calling to tinkering, making and 
selling wares, trading, and such like, tlicy would, in all })rob- 
ability, still have remained a caste in the connnunity, witli 
a strong feeling of sympathy for tho^e living \\\ other coun- 
tries, in consequence of the singularity of their origin and 
development, as distinguished from those of the other inhab- 
itants, their languao-c and that degree of prejudice which 

(:^7i) 



372 DISQUISITION ON TEE GIPSIES. 

most nations have for foreigners settling among them, and 
particularly so in tlie case of a people so different in their 
appearance and mode of life as were the Gipsies from those 
among whom they settled. Tliat may especially be said of 
tented Gipsies, and even of those who, from time to time, 
would be forced to leave the tent, and settle in towns, or 
live as tramps, as distinguished from tented Gipsies. The 
simple idea of their origin and descent, tribe and language, 
transmitted from generation to generation, being so different 
from those of the people among whom they lived, was, in it- 
self, perfectly sufficient to retain tliem members of Gipsy- 
dom, although, in cases of intermarriages with the natives, 
the mixed breeds might have gone over to the white race, 
and been lost to the general body. But in most of such 
cases that would hardly have taken place ; for between the 
two races, the difference of feeling, were it only a slight 
jealousy, would have led the smaller and more exclusive and 
bigoted to bring the issue of such intermarriages within its 
influence. In Great Britain, tlie Gipsies are entitled, in one 
respect at least," to be called Englishmen, Scotchmen, or 
Irishmen ; for their general ideas as men, as distinguished 
from their being Gipsies, and their language, indicate them, 
at once, to be such, nearly as much as the common natives 
of these countries. A lialf or mixed breed might more 
especially be termed or pass for a native ; so that, by cling- 
ing to the Gipsies, and hiding his Gipsy descent and affilia- 
tion from the native race, he would lose nothing of tlie out- 
ward character of an ordinary inhabitant ; while any benefit 
arising from his being a Gipsy would, at the same time, be 
enjoyed by him. 

But the subject assumes a totally different aspect when, 
instead of a slight jealousy existing between the two races, 
the difference in feeling is such as if a gulf liad been placed 
between them. The effect of a marriage between a white 
and a Gipsy, especially if he or she is known to be a Gipsy, 
is such, that the white instinctively withdraws from any con- 
nexion with his own race, and casts his lot with the Gip- 
sies. The children born of such unions become ultra Gip- 
sies. A very fine illustration of tliis principle of half-breed 
ultra Gipsyism is given by Mr. Borrow, in his " Gipsies in 
Spain," in the case of an officer in the Spanish army adopt- 
ing a young female Gipsy child, whose parents had been 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 373 

executed, and educating and marrying her. A son of this 
marriage, who rose to be a captain in the service of Donna 
Isabel, hated the white race so intensely, as, when a child, 
to tell his father that he wished he (his father) was dead. 
At whose door must the cause of such a feeling be laid ? 
One would naturally suppose that the child would have left, 
perhaps despised, his mother's people, and clung to those 
whom the world deemed respectable. But the case was 
different. Suppose the mother had not been prompted by 
some of her own race, while growing up, and the son, in his 
turn, not prompted by the mother, all that was necessary to 
stir up his hatred toward the white race was simply to 
know who he was, as I will illustrate.* 

Suppose that a great iron-master should fancy a Cinderella, 
living by scraping pieces of iron from the refuse of his fur- 
naces, educate her, and marry her, as great iron-masters have 
done. Being both of the same race, a complete amalgama- 
tion would take place at once : perhaps the wife was the 
best person of the two. Silly people miglit sneer at such a 
marriage ; but if no objection attached to the personal char- 
acter of the woman, she might be received into society at 
once, and admired by some, and envied by others, particu- 
larly if she had no " low relations" living near her. She 
miglit even boast of having been a Cinderella, if it happened 
to be well known ; in which case she might be deemed free 
of pr* Je, and consequently a very sensible, amiable woman, 
and worthy of every admiration. 

But who ever heard of such a thing taking place with a 
Gipsy? Suppose a Gipsy elevated to such a position as that 

* This Spanish Gipsy is reported by Mr. Borrow to have said : " She, how- 
ever, remembered her blood, and hated my fatlier, and tauji^ht me to hate 
him likewise. "When a boy, I used to stroll about the plain, that I mis^ht 
not see ray father ; and my father would follow me, and beg me to look 
upon him, and would ask me what I wanted ; and 1 would replj', ' Father, 
the only thing I want is to see you dead !' " 

This is certainly an extreme instance of the result of the prejudice against 
the Gipsy race; and no opinion can be formed uj)on it, witliout knowing 
some of the circumstances connected with the feelings of the father, or his 
relations, toward the mother and the Gips}' race generally. This Gipsy 
woman seems to have been well brought up by her jirotoctor and husband ; 
for she tnncjht her child Gips)/ from a jMS., and procured a teacher to 
instruct him in Latin, There are many reflections to be drawn from tho 
circumstances connected with this Spanish Gipsy family, but they do not 
eeem to have occurred to Mr. Borrow. 



374 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

spoken of ; she would not, she dare not, mention her descent 
to any one not of her own race, and far less would she give 
an expose of Gipsy dom ; for she instinctively perceives, or 
at least believes, that, such is the prejudice against her race, 
people would avoid her as something horridly frightful, al- 
though she might be the finest woman in the world. Who 
ever heard of a civilized Gipsy, before Mr. Borrow men- 
tioned those having attained to such an eminent position in 
society at Moscow ? Are there none such elsewhere than in 
Moscow ? There are many in Scotland. It is this unfortu- 
nate prejudice against the name that forces all our Gipsies, 
the moment they leave the tent, (which they almost invari- 
ably do with their blood diluted with the white,) to hide 
from the public their being Gipsies ; for they are morbidly 
sensitive of the odium which attaches to the name and race 
being applied to them. It is quite time enough to discover 
the great secret of Nature, when it is unavoidable to enter 

" The undiscovered country from whose bourne 
No traveller returns." 

As little disposition is manifested by these Gipsies to " show 
their hands :" the uncertainty of such an experiment makes 
the very idea dreadful to them. Hence it is that the con- 
stant aim of settled Gipsies is to hide the fact of their being 
Gipsies from other people. 
y It is a very common idea that Gipsies do not mix their 
blood with that of other people. Now, what is the fact ? I 
may, indeed, venture to assert, that there is not a full-blooded 
Gipsy in Scotland ;* and, most positively, that in England, 
where the race is held to be so pure, all that can be said of 
some families is, that they have not been crossed, as far 
as is known ; but that, with these exceptions, the body is 
much mixed : " dreadfully mixed" is the Gipsies' descrip- 
tion, as, in many instances, my own eyes have witnessed. 
This brings me to an issue with a writer in the Edin- 
burgh Review, who, in October, 1841, when reviewing the 
" Gipsies in Spain," by Mr. Borrow, says, " Their descent 
is purity itself ; no mixture of .European blood has con- 

* It is claimed, by some Scottish Gipsies, that there are full-blood Gipsies 
at Yetholm, but I do not believe it. This, I may venture to say, that ther« 
can be no certainty, but, on the contrary, great doubt, on the subject. But, 
after all, what is a pure Gipsy ? Was the race pure when it entered Scot' 
land, or even Europe ? The idea is perfectly arbitrary. 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 375 

taminated theirs They, (the stranger and Gipsy,) 

may live together ; the European vagrant is often to be 
found in the tents of the Gipsies ; they may join in the fel- 
lowship of sport, the pursuit of plunder, the management of 
their low trades, but they can never fraternize." A writer 
in Blackwood's Magazine, on the same occasion, says, " Their 
care to preserve the purity of their race might, in itself, 
have confuted the unfounded charge, so often brought against 
them, of stealing children, and bringing them up as Gipsies." 
More unfounded ideas than those put forth by these two 
writers are scarcely possible to be imagined.* 

This mixture of " the blood" is notorious. Many a full or 
nearly full-blood Gipsy will say that Gipsies do not mix 
their blood with that of the stranger. In such a case he 
only shuffles ; for lie whispers to himself two words, in his 
own language, which contradict what he says ; which words 
I forget, but they mean " I belie it ;" that is, he belies what 
he has just said. Besides, it lets the Gipsies down in their 
imagination, and, they think, in the imagination of others, 
to allow that the blood of their race is mixed. It is also a 
secret which they would rather hide from the world .f I am 
intimate with English Gipsy families, in none of whom is 
full blood ; tlie most that can be said of them is, that they 
range from nearly full, say from seven-eigliths, down to one- 
eighth, and perliaps less. Suppose that a fair-haired com- 
mon native marries a full-blood Gipsy : the issue of such an 
union will show some of the children, in point of external 

* It would be interesting to know where these writers got such ideas about 
the .purity of the Gipsy blood. It certainly was not from Mr, Borrow'a 
account of the Gipsies in Spain, whatever they may have inferred from 
that work. 

f An instance of this kind of shuflBing is given by Mr. Borrow, in the 
tenth chapter of the " Romany Rye," in the perso" of Ursula, a full or 
nearly full-blood Gipsy. She confines the crossing of the blood to such in- 
Btances as when a Gipsy dies and leaves his children to be provided for by 
" gorgios, trampers, and basket-makers, who live in caravans;" but she 
says, " I hate to tallc of the matter When Mr. Borrow asked her, if a 
Gipsy woman, unless •ompelled by hard necessity, would have anytliing to 
do with a gorgio, she replied, " We are not over-fond of gorgios, and wo 
hate basket-makers and folks that live in caravans." Here she nuikes a 
very important distinction between gorgios, (native English,) and fmskef- 
makers andfolka that live in caravans, (mixed Gipsies.) She does not deny 
that a Gipsy woman will intermarry with a native under certain circum- 
stances. A pretty-pure Gipsy, when angry, will very readily call a mixed 
Gipsy a gorgio, or, indeed, by any other name. 



876 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

appearance, perfectly European, like the father, and others 
Gipsies, like the mother. If two such European-like Gip* 
sies marr}^, some of their children will take after the Gipsy, 
and be pretty, even very, dark, and others after tlie white 
race. n crossing a second time with full white blood, the 
issue will take still more after the white race. Still, the 
Gipsy cannot be crossed altogether out ; he will come up, 
but of course in a modified form. Should the white blood 
be of a dark complexion and hair, and have no tendency, 
from its ancestry, to turn to fair, in its descent, then the 
issue between it and the Gipsy will always be dusky. I 
have seen all this, and had it fully explained by the Gipsies 
themselves. 

The result of this mixture of the Gipsy and European 
blood is founded, not only on the ordinary principles of 
physiology, but on common sense itself ; for why should not 
such issue take after the European, in preference to the 
Gipsy ? If a residence in Europe of 450 years has had no 
effect upon the appearance of what may be termed pure 
Gipsies, (a point which, at least, is questionable,) the length 
of time, the effects of climate, and the influence of mind, 
should, at least, predispose it to merge, by mixture, into 
something bearing a resemblance to the ordinary European ; 
which, by a continued crossing, it does. Indeed, it soon dis- 
appears to the common eye : to a stranger it is not observ- 
able, unless the mixture happens to be met with in a tent, 
or under such circumstances as one expects to meet with 
Gipsies. On paying a visit to an English Gipsy family, I 
was invited to call again, on such a day, when 1 would meet 
with some Welsh Gipsies. The principal Welsh Gipsy I 
found to be a very quiet man, with fair hair, and quite like 
an ordinary Englishman ; who was admitted by his English 
brethren to " speak deep Gipsy." He had just arrived from 
Wales, where he had been employed in an iron work. Un- 
less I am misinformed, the issue of a fair-haired European 
and an ordinary Hindoo woman, in India, sometimes shows 
the same result as I have' stated of the Gipsies ; but it ouglit 
to be much more so in the case of the Gipsy in Europe, on 
account of the race having been so long acclimated tliere. 
Indeed, it is generally believed, that the population of 
Europe contains a large part of Asiatic blood, from that con- 
tinent having frequently been overrun by Asiatics, who 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 377 

mixed their blood with an indigenous race which they met 
with there. 

Of the mixed Spanish Gipsy, to whom I have alluded, Mr. 
Borrow says, that "he hsid Jlaxen hair; his eyes small, and, 
like ferrets, red and fiery ; and his complexion like a brick, 
or dull red, chequered with spots of purple. '^ This descrip- 
tion, with, perhaps, the exception of the red eyes, and spots 
of purple, is quite in keeping with that of many of the mixed 
Gipsies. The race seems even to have given a preference 
to fair or red hair, in the case of such children and grown- 
up natives as they have adopted into their body. I have 
met with a young Spaniard from Corunna, who is so much 
acquainted with the Gipsies in Spain, that I took him' to be 
a mixed Gipsy himself ; and he says that mixtures among 
the Spanish Gipsies are very common ; the white man, in 
such cases, always casting his lot with the Gipsies. None 
of the French, German, or Hungarian Gipsies whom I have 
met with in America are full blood, or anything like it ; but 
I am told there are such, and very black too, as the English 
Gipsies assert. Indeed, considering how " dreadfully mixed'' 
^the Gipsies are in Great Britain and Ireland, I cannot but 
conclude that they are more or less so all over tlie world.* 

The blood once mixed, there is nothing to prevent a little 
more being added, and a little more, and so on. Tliere are 
English Gipsy girls who have gone to work in factories in 
the Eastern States, and picked up husbands among the 
ordinary youths of these establishments. And what differ- 
ence does it make? Is not tlie game in the Gipsy woman's 
own hands? Will she not bring up her children Gipsies, 
initiate them in all the mysteries of Gipsydom, and teach 
them the language ? There is another married to an Ameri- 
can farmer " down east." All that she has to do is simply 
to "tell her wonderful story," as the Gipsies express it. 

* Grellmann evidently alludes to Gipsies of mixed blood, when he writes 
in the following manner : " Experience shows that the dark colour of the 
Gipsies, which is continued from generation to generation, is more the effect 
of education and manner of life than descent. Among those who profess 
music in Hungary, or serve in the imperial army, where they have learned 
to pay more attention to order and cleanliness, there are many to be found 
whose extraction is not at all discernible in their colour." For my part, I 
cannot say that such language is applicable to full-blood Gipsies. Still, the 
change from tented to settled and tidy Gips3'dom is aj)t to show its effects 
of modifying the complexion of such Gipsies, and tc a much greater degree 
in their descendants. 



378 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

Jonathan must think that he has caged a queer kind of a bird 
in the English Gipsy woman. But will he say to his friends, 
or neighbours, that his wafe is a Gipsy ? Will the children 
tell that their mother, and, consequently, they themselves 
are Gipsies ? No, indeed. Jonathan, liowever, will find 
her a very active, managing woman, who will always be 
a-stirring, and will not allow her " old man" to kindle the 
fires of a morning, milk his cows, or clean his boots, and, as 
far as she is concerned, will bring him lots of chabos. 

Gipsies, however, do not like such marriages ; still they 
take place. They are more apt to occur when they have 
attained to that degree of security in a community where no 
one knows them to be Gipsies, or w^hen they have settled in 
a neighbourhood to which they had come strangers. The 
parents exercise more constraint over their sons than daugh- 
ters ; they cannot bear the idea of a son taking a strange 
woman for a wife ; for a strange woman is a snare unto the 
Gipsies. If a Scottish Gipsy lad shows a hankering after a 
stranger lass, the mother will soon " cut his comb," by ask- 
ing him, '' What would she say if she knew you to be a loon 
of a Gipsy ? Take such or such a one (Gipsies) for a wife, 
if you want one." But it is different with the girls. If a 
Gipsy lass is determined to have the stranger for a husband, 
she has only to say, " Never mind, mother ; it makes no 
earthly difference ; I'll turn that fellow round my little fin- 
ger ; I'll take care of the children when I get them." I do 
not know how the settled Scottish Gipsies broach the sub- 
ject of being Gipsies to the stranger son-in-law when he is 
introduced among them. I can imagine the girl, during the 
courtship, saying to herself, with reference to her intended, 
*' I'll lead you captive, my pretty fellow !" And captive she 
does lead him, in more senses than one. Perhaps the sub- 
ject is not broached to him till after she has borne him chil- 
dren ; or, if he is any way soft, the mother, with a leering 
eye, will say to him at once, " Ah ha, lad, ye're among Gip- 
sies now 1" In such a case, the young man will be perfectly 
bewildered to know what it all means, so utterly ignorant 
is he about Gipsies ; wiien, liowever, he comes to learn all 
about it, it will be 77121711 with him, as if liis wife's friends 
had burked him, or some " old Gipsy" had come along, and 
sworn him in on the point of a drawn dirk. It may be that 
the Gipsy never mentions the subject to her husband at all, 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 379 

for fear he should " take her life ;" she can, at all events, trust 
her secret with her children. 

Why should there be any hard feelings towards a Gipsy 
for " taking in and burking" a native in this way ? She 
does not propose — she only disposes of herself She has nc 
business to tell the other that she is a Gipsy. She does not 
consider herself a worse woman than he is a man, but, on 
the contrary, a better. She would rather prefer a chabo, 
but, somehow or other, she sacrifices her feelings, and takes 
the gorgio, " for better or worse." Or there may be con- 
siderable advantages to be derived fi^om the connexion, so 
that she spreads her snares to secure them. Being a Gipsy, 
she has the whip-hand of the husband, for no consideration 
will induce him to divulge to any one the fact that his wife 
is a Gipsy — should she have told him ; in which case she 
has such a hold upon him, as to have " turned him round her 
little finger" most effectually. " Married a Gipsy ! it's no^ 
possible !" " Ay, it is possible. There !" she will say, chat- 
tering her words, and, with her fingers, showing him the 
signs. He "soon gets reconciled to the " better or worse" 
which lie has taken to his bosom, as well as to her " folk," 
and becomes strongly attached to them. The least thing 
that the Gipsy can then do is to tell her " wonderful story" 
to her children. It is not teaching them any damnable 
creed ; it is only telling them who they are ; so that they 
may acknowledge herself, her people, her blood, and the 
blood of the children themselves. 

And how does the Gipsy woman bring up her children in 
regard to her own race ? She tells them her " wonderful 
story" — informs them who they are, and of the dreadful prej- 
udice that exists against them, simply for being Gipsies. 
She then tells them about Pharaoh and Joseph in Egypt, 
terming her people, " Pharaoh's folk." In short, she dazzles 
the imagination of the children, from the moment they can 
comprehend the simplest idea. Then she teaches them her 
words, or language, as the '• real Egyptian," and frightens 
and bewilders the youthful mind by telling them that they 
are subject to be hanged if they arc known to be Gipsies, 
or to speak these words, or will be looked upon as wild 
beasts by those around them. She then informs the chil- 
dren how long the Gipsies have been in the country ; how 
they lived in tents ; how they were persecuted, banished, 



880 . DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

and hanged, merely for being Gipsies. She then tells them 
of her people being in every part of the world, whom they 
can recognize by the language and signs which she is 
teaching them ; and that her race will everywhere be ready 
to shed their blood for them. She then dilates upon the 
benefits that arise from being a Gipsy — benefits negative as 
well as positive ; for should they ever be set upon — garroted, 
for example — all that they will have to do will be to cry 
out some such expression as ^^Biene rate, calo chaho,'^ (good- 
night, Gipsy, or black fellow,) when, if there is a Gipsy near 
them, he will protect them. The children will be fondled 
by her relatives, handed about and hugged as " little ducks 
of Gipsies." The granny, while sitting at the fireside, like 
a witch, performs no small part in the education of the chil- 
dren, making them fairly dance with excitement. In this 
manner do the children of Gipsies have the Gipsy soul liter- 
ally breathed into them.* 

In such a way — what with the supreme influence which 
the mother has exercised over the mind of the child from its 
very infancy ; the manner in which its imagination has been 
dazzled ; and the dreadful prejudice towards the Gipsies, 
which they all apply, directly or indirectly, to themselves — 
does the Gipsy adhere to his race. When he comes to be 
a youth, he naturally enough endeavours to find his way to 
a tent, to have a look at the "old thing." He does not, 
however, think much of it as a reality ; but it presents some- 
thing very poetical and imaginative to his mind, when he 
contemplates it as the state from which his mysterious fore- 
fathers have sprung.t It makes very little difference, in the 

* Mr. Offor, editor of a late edition of Bunyan's works, writes, in " Notes 
and Queries," thus : " I have avoided much intercourse with this class, fear- 
in^^ the fate of Mr. Hoyland, who, beins^ a Quaker, was shot by one of 
Cupid's darts from a black-ej'^ed Gipsy girl ; and J. 8. may do icell to be cau- 
tious." Mr. Offor is not far wrong. A Gipsy girl can sometimes fascinate 
a " white fellow," as a snake can a bird — make him flutter, and particularly 
so, should the " little Gipsy" be met with in some such dress as black silka 
and a white polka. This much can be said of Gipsy women, which cannot 
be said of all women, that they know their places, and are not apt to usurp 
the rights of the rajahs ; they will even " work the nails off their fingers" 
to make them feel comfortable. 

I should conclude, from what Mr. Offor says, that the Quaker married 
the Gipsy girl. If children were born of the union, they will be Gipsy- 
Quakers, or Quaker-Gipsies, whichever expression we choose to adopt. 

f I have picked up quite a number of !^cottish Gipsies of respectable 
character, from their having gone in their youth, to look at the " old thing." 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 881 

case to which I have alluded, whether the father be a Gipsy 
or not ; the children all go with the mother, for tliey in- 
herit the blood through her. What with the blood, the edu- 
cation, the words, and the signs, they are simply Gipsies, 
and will be such, as long as they retain a consciousness of 
who they are, and any peculiarities exclusively Gipsy. 
As it sometimes happens that the father, only, is a Gipsy, the 
attachment may not be so strong, on the part of the children, 
as if the blood had come through the mother ; still, it like- 
wise attaches them to the body. A great deal of jealousy 
is shown by the Gipsies, when a son marries a strange wo- 
man. A greater ado is not made by some Catholics, to 
bring up their children Catholics, under such circumstances, 
than is exhibited by Gipsies for their cliildren knowing their 
secret — that is, the " wonderful story ;" which has the effect 
of leading them, in their turn, to marry with Gipsies. The 
race is very jealous of " the blood" being lost ; or that their 
" wonderful story" should become known to those who are 
not Gipsies. 

There are people who cannot imagine how a man can be 
a Gipsy and have fair hair. They think that, from his hav- 
ing fair hair, he cannot have the same feelings of wliat they 
imagine to be a true Gipsy, that is, a black-haired one. 
One naturally asks, what effect can the matter of colour of 
hair have upon the mind of a member of any community or 
clan, whether the hair be black, brown, red, fair, or white, 
or the person have no hair at all ? Let us imagine a Gipsy 
with fair hair. How long is it since the white blood was 
introduced among his ancestors? Perhaps three hundred 
and fifty years. The race of which he comes has been, 
more or less, mixing and crossing ever since, but always 
retaining the issue within its own community. Is he fair- 
haired ? Then he may be half a Gipsy ; he may be three- 
fourths Gipsy, and perhaps even more. At the present day, 

It is the most uatural thing in the world for them to do. What is it to 
look back to the time of James V., in 1540, when John Faw was lord-para- 
mount over the Gipsies in Scotland ? Imagine, then, the natural curiosity 
of a young Gipsy, brought up in a town, to look at something like the ori- 
ginal condition of his ancestors. Such a Gipsy will leave Edinburgh, for 
example, and travel over the south of Scotland. " casting his sign," as he 
passes thi'ough the villages, in every one of which he will find Gipsies. 
Some of these villages are almost entirely occupied by Gipsies. James 
Hogg is reported, in Blackwood's Magazine, to say, that Lochmaben ia 
" stocked" with them. 



382 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

the " points" of such a Gipsy are altogether arbitrary ; some 
profess to know their points, but it is a thing altogether un- 
certain. All that they know and adliere to is, that they are 
Gipsies, and nothing else. In this manner are the British 
Gipsies, (with the exception of some English families, about 
whom there is no certainty,) members of the Gipsy commu- 
nity, or nation, as such — each having some of the blood ; and 
not Gipsies of an ideal purity of race. What they know is, 
that their parents and relatives are Gipsies ; that Gipsies 
separate them from the eternity that is past ; and, conse- 
quently, that they are Gipsies. They, indeed, accept their 
descent, blood, and nationality as instinctively as they accept 
the very sex which God has given them. Which of the two 
knows most of Gipsydom — the fair-haired or black? Al- 
most invariably the fair."^ 

We naturally ask, what effect has this difference in appear- 
ance upon two such members of one family — the one with 
European, the other with Gipsy, features and colour ? and 
the answer is this : The first will hide the fact of his being 
a Gipsy from strangers ; indeed, he is ashamed to let it be 
known that he is a Gipsy ; and he is afraid that people, not 
knowing how it came about, would laugh at him. " What !'' 
they would ask, " you a Gipsy ? The idea is absurd." Be- 
sides, it facilitates his getting on in the world, to prevent it 
being known tliat he is a Gipsy. The other member cannot 
deny that he is a Gipsy, because any one can see it. Such 
are the Gipsies who are more apt to cling to the tent, or the 
more original ways of the old stock. They are very proud 

* Among the English Gipsies, fair-haired ones are looked upon by the 
purer sort, or even by those taking after the Gipsy, as " small potatoes." 
The consequence is, they have to make up for their want of blood, by smart- 
ness, knowledge of the language, or something that will go to balance the 
deficiency of blood. They generally lay claim to the intellect, wliile they 
yield the blood to the others. A full or nearly full-blood young English Gipsy 
looks i:pon herself with all the pride of a little duchess, while in the com- 
pany of young male mixed Gipsies. A mixed Gipsy may reasonably be 
assumed to be more intelligent than one of the old stock, were it only for 
this reason, that the mixture softens down the natural conceit and bigotry 
of the Gipsy ; while, as regards his personal appearance, it puts him in a 
more improvable position. Still, a full-blood Gipsy looks up to a mixed 
Gipsy, if he is anything of a superior man, and freely acknowledges the 
blood. Indeed, the two kinds will readily marry, if circumstances bring 
them together. To a couple of such Gipsies I said : " What ditference does 
it make, if the person has the blood, and has his heart in the right place?" 
** That's the idea ; that's exactly the idea," they both replied. 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 383 

of their appearance ; but it is a pride accompanied with dis- 
advantages, and even pain. For, after all, tlie beauty and 
pleasure in being a Gipsy is to have the other cast of fea- 
tures and colour ; he has as much of tlie blood and language 
as the other, while he can go into any kind of company — a 
sort of Jack-the-Giant-Killer in his invisible coat. The 
nearer the Gipsy comes to the original colour of his race, 
the less chance is there of improving him. He knows what 
he is like ; and well does he know the feeling that people 
entertain for him. In fact, he feels that there is no use in 
being anything but what people call a Gipsy. But it is dif- 
ferent with those of European countenance and colour, or 
when these have been modified or diluted by a mixture of 
white blood. They can, then, enter upon any sphere of em- 
ployment to which they have a mind, and their personal ad- 
vantages and outward circumstances will admit of.* 

Let us now consider the destiny of such European-like 
Gipsies. Suppose a female of this description marries a 
native in settled life, which both of them follow. She brings 
the children up as Gipsies, in the way described. The chil- 
dren are apt to become ultra Gipsies. If they, in their turn, 
marry natives, they do the same with their children ; so that, 
if the same system were always followed, they would continue 
Gipsies forever. For all that is necessary to perpetuate 
the tribe, is simply for the Gipsies to know who they are, 
and the prejudice that exists toward the race of which they 
are a part ; to say nothing of the innate associations con- 
nected w^ith their origin and descent. Such a phenomenon 
may be fitly compared to the action of an auger ; with this 
difference, that the auger may lose its edge, but the Gipsy 
will drill his way through generations of the ordinary 
natives, and, at the end, come out as sharp as ever ; all the 
circumstances attending the two races being exactly the 
same at the end as at the beginning. In this way, let their 
blood be mixed as it may, let even their blood-relationship 
outside of their body be what it may, tlic Gipsies still remain, 
in their private associations, a distinct people, into whatever 

* To thoroughly understand how a Gipsy, with fair hair and bhie eyes, 
can be as much a Gipsy as one with black, may be termed "passing the 
pons asinornin of the Gipsy question." Once over the bridge, and there 
are no difficulties to be encountered on the journey, unless it be to under- 
Btand that a Gipsy can be a Gipsy without living in a tent or being a roguo. 



S84 DISQUISITION ON TEE GIPSIES, 

spbere of human action they may enter ; although, in point 
of blood, appearance, occupation, character, and religion, 
they may have drifted the breadth of a hemisphere from the 
stakes and tent of the original Gipsy. 

There can surely be no great difficulty in comprehending 
so simple an idea as this. Here we have a foreign race in- 
troduced amongst us, which has been proscribed, legally as 
well as socially. To escape the effects of this double pro- 
scription, the people have hidden the fact of their belonging 
to the race, although they have clung to it with an ardour 
worthy of universal admiration. The proscription is toward 
the name and race as such, that is, the blood ; and is not 
general, but absolute ; none having ever been received into 
society as Gipsies. For this reason, every Gipsy, every one 
who has Gipsy blood in his veins, applies the proscription 
to himself. On the other hand, he has his own descent — 
the Gipsy descent ; and, as I have already said, he has 
naturally as little desire to wish a different descent, as he 
has to have a different sex. As Finns do not wish to have 
been born Englishmen, or Englishmen Finns, so Gipsies are 
perfectly satisfied with their descent, nay, extremely proud 
of it. They would not change it, if they could, for any con- 
sideration. When Gipsies, therefore, marry natives, they do 
not only willingly bring up their children as Gipsies, but by 
every moral influence they are forced to do it, and cling to 
each other. In this way has the race been absolutely cut off 
from that of the ordinary natives ; all intercourse between 
the two, unless on the part of the hush Gipsy, in the way of 
dealings, having been of a clandestine nature, on the side of 
the Gipsy, or, in other words, incog. How melancholy it is 
to think that such a state of things exists in the British 
Islands ! 

The Gipsy, born of a Gipsy mother and a native father, 
does, therefore, most naturally, and, I may say, invariably, 
follow the Gipsy connexion ; the simplest impulse of man- 
hood compels him to do it. Being born, or becoming a 
member of settled society, he joins in the ordinary amuse- 
ments or occupations of his fellow-creatures of both races ; 
which he does the more readily when he feels conscious of 
the incognito which he bears. But he has been brought up 
from his mother's knee a Gipsy ; he knows nothing else ; his 
associations with his relatives have been Gipsy ; and he has 



DISQUISITION ON TUB GIPSIES. 885 

in his veins that which the white damns, and, he doubts not, 
would damn in him, were he to know of it. He has, more- 
over, the words and signs of the Gipsy race ; he is brought 
in contact with the Gipsy race ; he perceives that his feelings 
are reciprocated by them, and that both have the same 
reserve and timidity for *' outsiders." He does not reason 
abstractly what he is not, but instinctively holds that he is 
" one of them ;" that he has in his mind, his heart, and his 
blood, that which the common native has not, and which 
makes him a chabo, that is, a Gipsy. 

The mother, in the case mentioned, is certainly not a full- 
blood Gipsy, nor anything like it ; she does not know her 
real '^ points ;" all that she knows is, that she is a " Gipsy :'* 
so that, if the youth's father is an ordinary native, the youth 
holds himself to be a half-and-half, nominally, though he 
does not know what he really is, as regards blood. Imagine, 
then, that he takes such a half-and-half Gipsy for a wife, and 
that both tell their children that they are " Gipsies :" the 
children, perhaps, knowing nothing of the real origin of 
their parents, take up the '' wonderful story," and hand it 
down to their children, initiating them, in their turn, in the 
"mysteries." These children never doubt that they are 
" Gipsies," although their Gipsyism may, as I have already 
said, have " drifted the breadth of a hemisphere from the 
stakes and tent of the original Gipsy." In this manner is 
Gipsydom kept alive, by its turning round and round in a 
perpetual circle. And in this manner does it happen, that 
a native finds his own children Gipsies, from having, in seek- 
ing for a wife, stumbled upon an Egyptian woman. Gipsy- 
dom is, therefore, the aggregate of Gipsies, wherever, or 
under whatever circumstances, they are to be found. It is 
ill two respects an absolute question ; absolute as to blood, 
and absolute as to those teachings, feelings, and associations 
tliat, by a moral necessity, accompany the possession of the 
blood. 

This brings me to an issue with Mr. Borrow. Speaking 
of the destination of the Spanish Gipsies, he says : " If the 
Gitanos are abandoned to themselves, by whicli we mean, no 
arbitrary laws are again enacted for their extinction, tlie 
sect will eventually cease to be, and its members become 
confounded with the residue of the population." I can well 
understand tliat such procedure, on the part of the Spanish 
17 



886 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES, 

Government, was calculated to soften the ferocious disposi- 
tion of the Gipsies ; but did it bring them a point nearer 
to an amalgamation with the people than before ? Mr. Bor- 
row continues : " The position which they occupy is tlie 

lowest The outcast of the prison and the jpresidio^ 

who calls himself Spaniard, would feel insulted by being 
termed Gitano, and would thank God that he is not." He 
continues : " It is, of course, by intermarriage, alone, that the 
two races will ever commingle ; and before that event is 
brought about, much modification must take place amongst 
the Gitanos, in their manners, in their habits, in their affec- 
tions and their dislikes, and perhaps even in their physical 
peculiarities, (yet ' no washing,' as Mr. Borrow approvingly 
quotes, ' will turn the Gipsy white ;') much must be for- 
gotten on both sides, and everything is forgotten in course 
of time.'' So great, indeed, was the prejudice against the 
Gipsies, that the law of Charles III, in 1783, forbade the 
people calling them Gitanos, under the penalty of being 
punished for slander I because, his majesty said : " I declare 
that those who go by the name of Gitanos are not so by 
origin or nature ; nor do they proceed from any infected 
root (!)" What regard would the native Spaniards pay to 
the injunction, that they would be punished for " slander," 
for calling the Gipsies Gitanos, in place of Spaniards? 
"We may well believe that such a law would be a dead letter 
in Spain ; where, according to Mr. Borrow, "justice has in- 
variably been a mockery ; a thing to be bought and sold, 
terrible only to the feeble and innocent, and an instrument 
of cruelty and avarice." 

Mr. Borrow leaves the question where he found it. Even 
remove the prejudice that exists against the Gipsies, as re- 
gards their colour, habits, and history ; what then ? Would 
they, as a people, cease to be ? Would they amalgamate 
with the natives, so as to he lost ? Assuredly not. They 
may mix their blood, but they preserve their mental identity 
in the world ; even although, in point of physical appear- 
ance, habits, manners, occupation, character, and creed, they 
might " become confounded with the residue of the popula- 
tion." In that respect, they are the most exclusive people 
of almost any to be found in the world. We have only to 
consider what Freemasonry is, and we can form an idea of 
what Gipsyism is, in one of its aspects. It rests upon the 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 387 

broadest of all bases — flesh and blood, a common and 
mysterious origin, a common language, a common history, a 
common persecution, and a common odium, in every part of 
the world. Remove the prejudice against the Gipsies, make 
it as respectable to be Gipsies, as the world, with its igno- 
rance of many of the race, deem it disreputable ; what 
then ? Some of them might come out with their " tents and 
encampments," and banners and mottoes : the " cuddy and 
the creel, the hammer and tongs, the tent and the tin kettle" 
forever. People need not sneer at the "cuddy and the 
creel." The idea conveys a world of poetry to the mind of 
a Gipsy. Mrs. Fall, of Dunbar, thought it so poetical, that 
slie had it, as we have seen, worked in tapestry ; and it is 
doubtless carefully preserved, as an heir-loom, among her 
descendants.* 

Mr. Borrow speaks of the Gipsies " declining" in Spain. 
Ask a Scotchman about the Scottish Gipsies, and he will an- 
swer : " The Scotch Gipsies have pretty much died out." 
" Died out ?" I ask ; " that is impossible ; for who are more 
prolific than Gipsies ?" " Oh, then, they have become settled, 

* There is a considerable resemblance between Gipsyism, in its harmless 
aspect, and Freemasonry ; with this difference, that the former is a general, 
while the latter is a special, society ; that is to say, the Gipsies have the 
lan^age, or some of the words, and the signs, peculiar to the whole race, 
which each individual or class will use for different purposes. The race 
does not necessarily, and does not in fact, have intercourse with every 
other member of it ; in that respect, they resemble any ordinary commu- 
nity of men. Masonry, as my reader may be aware, is a society of what 
may be termed " a mixed multitude of good fellows, who are all pledged to 
befriend and help each other." The radical elements of Masonry may be 
termed a " rope of sand," which the vows of the Order work into the most 
closely and strongly formed coil of any to be found in the world. But it 
is altogether of an artificial nature ; while Gipsyism is natural — something 
that, when separated from objectionable habits, one might almost call divine ; 
for it is founded upon a question of race — a question of blood. The cement 
of a creed is weak, in comparison with that which binds the Gipsies together ; 
for a people, like an individual, may have one creed to-day, and another 
to-morrow ; it may be continually travelling round the circle of every form 
of faith ; but blood, under certain circumstances, is absolute and immutable. 

There are many Gipsies Freemasons ; indeed, they are the very people 
to push their way into a Masonic Lodge ; for they have secrets of their own, 
and are naturally anxious to pry into those of others, by which they may 
be benefited. I was told of a Gipsy who died lately, the Master of a Masons' 
Lodge. A friend, a Mason, told me, the other day, of his having entered a 
house in Yetholra. where were five Gipsies, all of whom responded to his 
Masonic signs. Masons should therefore interest themselves in, and be- 
friend, the Gipsies. 



388 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

and civilized." " And ceased to he Gipsies ?" I continue. 
" Exactly so," he replies. What idea can be more ridicu- 
lous than that of saying, that if a Gipsy leaves the tent, 
settles in a town, and attends church, he ceases to be a 
Gipsy ; and tliat, if he takes to the tent again, he becomes a 
Gipsy again ? What has a man's occupation, habits, or char- 
acter to do with his clan, tribe, or nationality ? Does edu- 
cation, does religion, remove from his mind a knowledge of 
who he is, or change his blood ? Are not our own Borderers 
and Highlanders as much Borderers and Highlanders as ever 
they were ? Are not Spanish Gipsies still Spanish Gipsies, al- 
though a change may have come over the characters and cir- 
cumstances of some of them ? It would be absurd to deny it.* 
Mr. Borrow has not sufl&ciently examined into Spanish 
Gipsyism to pass a reliable opinion upon it. He says : 
" One thing is certain, in the history of the Gitanos ; that 
the sect flourished and increased, so long as the law recom- 
mended and enjoined measures the most harsh and severe 

for its suppression The caste of the Gitanos still 

exists, but is neither so extensive, nor so formidable, as a 
century ago, when the law, in denouncing Gitanismo, pro- 

* The principle, or rather fact, here involved, simple as it is in itself, is 
evidently very difficult of comprehension by the native Scottish mind. 
Any person understands perfectly well how a Highlander, at the present 
day, is still a Highlander, notwithstanding the great change that has come 
over the character of his race. But our Scottish literati seem to have been 
altogether at sea, in comprehending the same principle as applicable to the 
Gipsies. They might naturally have asked themselves, whether Gipsies 
could have procreated Jeivs ; and, if not Jews, how they could have pro- 
created goryios, (as English Gipsies term natives.) A writer in Black- 
wood's Magazine says, in reference to Billy Marshall, a Gipsy chief, to whom 
allusion has already been made : " Who were his descendants I cannot 
tell ; I am sure he could not do it himself, if he were living. It is known 
that they were prodigiously numerous ; I dare say numberless." And yet 
this writer gravely says that " the race is in some risk of becoming ex- 
tinct (!)" Another writer in Blackwood says: " Their numbers may per- 
haps have since been diminished, in particular States, by the progress of 
civilization {/)" We would naturally pronounce any person crazy who 
would maintain that there were no Highlanders in Scotland, owing to their 
having " changed their habits." We could, with as much reason, say the 
same of those who will maintain this opinion in regard to the Gipsies. 
There has been a great deal of what is called genius expended upon the 
Gipsies, but wonderfully little common sense. 

As the Jews, during their pilgrimage in the Wilderness, were protected 
from their enemies by a cloud, so have the Gipsies, in their increase and 
development, been shielded from theirs, by a mist of ignorance, which, it 
would seem, requires no little trouble to dispel. 



DISQUISITION ON THE aiPSIES. 389 

posed to the Gitanos the alternatives of death for persisting 
in their profession, or slavery for abandoning it." These 
are very singular alternatives. The latter is certainly not 
to be found in any of the Spanish laws quoted by Mr. Bor- 
rovr. I am at a loss to perceive the point of his reasoning. 
There can be no difficulty in believing that Gipsies would 
rather increase in a state of peace, than if they were hunted 
from place to place, like wild beasts ; and consequently, 
having renounced their former mode of life, they would, in 
Mr. Borrow's own words, " cease to play a distinct part in 
the history of Spain, and the laiv would no longer speak of 
them as a distinct people." And the same might, to a cer- 
tain extent, be said of the Spanish 'people. Mr. Borrow 
again says : " That the Gitanos are not so numerous as in 
former times, witness those barrios, in various towns, still de- 
nominated Gitanerias, but from whence the Gitanos have 
disappeared, even like the Moors from the Morerias^ But 
Mr. Borrow himself, in the same work, gives a good reason 
for the disappearance of the Gipsies from these Gitanerias ; 
for he says : " The Gitanerias were soon considered as public 
nuisances, on which account the Gitanos were forbidden to 
live together in particular parts of the tow^n, to hold meet- 
ings, and even to intermarry with each other." If the dis- 
appearance of the Gipsies from Spain was like that of the 
Moors, it would appear that they had left, or been expelled 
from, the country ; a theory which Mr. Borrow does not ad- 
vance. The Gipsies, to a certain extent, may have left these 
barriers, or been expelled from them, and settled, as trades- 
men, mechanics, and what not, in other parts of the same or 
other towns ; so as to be in a position the more able to get 
on in the world. Still, many of them are in the colonies. 
In Cuba there are many, as soldiers and musicians, dealers 
in mules and red pepper, which businesses tliey almost 
monopolize, and jobbers and dealers in various wares ; and 
doubtless there are some of them innkeepers, and otiiers 
following other occupations. In Mexico there are not a few. 
I know of a Gitano who has a fine wholesale and retail cigar 
store in Virginia.*^ 

* In Olmstead's " Journey in the Seaboard Slave States" it is stated, that 
in Alexandria, Louisiana, when under the Spanish rule, there were " French 
and Spanish, E(/i/ptiaris and Indians, Mulattoes and Negroes." This author 
reports a conversation which he had with a planter, by which it appears 



890 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

Mr. Borrow concludes, in regard to the Spanish Gipsies, 
thus : " We have already expressed our belief that the caste 
has diminished of latter years ; whether this diminution was 
the result of one or many causes combined ; of a partial 
change of habits^ of pestilence or sickness, of war or 
famine, or of ^ freer intercourse ivith the Spanish population^ 
we have no means of determining, and shall abstain from 
offering conjectures on the subject." In this way does he 
leave the question just where he found it. Is there any 
reason to doubt that Gipsydom is essentially the same in 
Spain as in Great Britain ; or that its future will be guided 
by any other principles than those which regulate that of 
the British Gipsies? Indeed, I am astonished that Mr. 
Borrow should advance the idea that Gipsies should decrease 
by " changing their habits ;" they might not increase sofast^ 
in a settled life, as when more exposed to the air, and not 
molested by the Spanish Government. I am no less aston- 
ished that he should think they would decrease by " a freer 
intercourse with the Spanish population f when, in fact, 
such mixtures are well known to go with the Gipsies ; the 
mixture being, in the estimation of the British Gipsies, cal- 
culated to strengthen and invigorate the race itself. Had 
Mr. Borrow kept in mind the case of the half-blood Gipsy 
captain, he could have had no difi&culty in learning what 
became of mixed Gipsies.* 

that these Egyptians came from " some of the Northern Islands ;" that they 
spoke a language among themselves, but could talk French and Spanish 
too ; that they were black, but not very black, and as good citizens as any, 
and passed for white folk. The planter believed they married mostly with 
mulattoes, and that a good many of the mulattoes had Egyptian blood in 
them too. He believed these Egyptians had disappeared since the State 
became part of the Union. Mr. Olmstead remarks : " The Egyptians were 
probably Spanish Gipsies, though I have never heard of any of them be- 
ing in America iu any other way." 

* Mr. Borrow surely cannot mean that a Gipsy ceases to be a Gipsy, 
■when he settles down, and "turns over a new leaf;" and that this "change 
of habits" changes his descent, blood, appearance, language and nationality 1 
What, then, does he mean, when he says, that the Spanish Gipsies have de- 
creased by " a partial change of habits ?" 

And does an infusion of Spanish blood, implied in a " freer intercourse 
with the Spanish population," lead to the Gipsy element being wiped out; 
or does it lead to the Spanish feeling being lost in Gipsydom ? Which is 
the element to be operated upon— the Spanish or the Gipsy ? Which is the 
leaven ? The Spanish element is the passive, the Gipsy the active. As a 
question of philosophy, the most simple of comprehension, and, above all, 
as a matter of fact, the foreign element introduced, in detail, into the body 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 891 

It doubtless holds in Spain, as in Great Britain, that as 
the Gipsy enters into settled life, and engages in a respect- 
able calling, he hides his descent, and even mixes his blood 
with that of the country, and becomes ashamed of the name 
before the public ; but is as much, at heart, a Gipsy, as any 
others of his race. And this theory is borne out by Mr. 
Borrow himself, when he speaks of " the unwillingness of 
tlie Spanish Gipsies to utter, when speaking of themselves, 
the detested expression Gitano ; a word which seldom es- 
capes their mouths." We might therefore conclude, that 
the Spanish Gipsies, with the exception of the more original 
and bigoted stock, would hide their nationality from the com- 
mon Spaniards, and so escape their notice. It is not at all 
likely that the half-pay Gipsy captain would mention to the 
public that he was a Gipsy, although he admitted it to Mr. 
Borrow, under the peculiar circumstances in which he met 
him. My Spanish acquaintance informs me that the Gitanos, 
generally, hide their nationality from the rest of the world. 

Such a case is evidently told by Mr. Borrow, in the vaga- 
bond Gipsy, Antonio, at Badajoz, who termed a rich Gipsy, 
living in the same town, a hog, because he probably would 
not countenance him. Antonio may possibly have been 
kicked out of his house, in attempting to enter it. He ac- 
cused him of having married a Spaniard, and of fain attempt- 
ing to pass himself for a Spaniard. As regards the wife, 
slie might have been a Gipsy with very little of " the blood" 
in her veins ; or a Spaniard, reared by Gipsies ; or an ordi- 
nary Spanish maiden, to whom the Gipsy would teach liis 
language, as sometimes happens among the English Gipsies. 
His wishing to pass for a Spaniard had nothing to do with 
his being, but not wishing to be known as, a Gipsy. The 
same is done by almost all our Scottish Gi[)sies. In Eng- 
land, those who do not follow the tent — I mean the more 
mixed and better class — are even afraid of each other. 
" Afraid of what ?" said I, to such an English Gipsy ; 
" ashamed of being Gipsies ?" " No, sir," (with great em- 
phasis ;) " not ashamed of being Gipsies, but of being known 

of Gipsydora, goes with that body, and, in feeling, becomes incorporated 
with it, although, in pliy.sical appearance, it changes the (^ipsy race, so 
that it becomes " confounded with the residue of the population," but re- 
mains Gipsy, as before. A vSpanish Gipsy is a Spaniard as lie stands, and 
it would be hard to say wha< we should ask him to do, to become more a 
Spaniard than he is already. 



892 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

to other 'people as Gipsies^ " A world of difference," I re- 
plied. "What does the world hold to be a Gipsy, and what 
does it hold to be i\\Q feelings of a man? If we consider 
these two questions, we can have little difficulty in under- 
standing the wish of such Gipsies to disguise themselves. 
It is in this way, and in the mixing of the blood, that this 
80-called "dying out of the Gipsies" is to be accounted 
for.* 

It is singular that Mr. Borrow should attribute the change 
which has come over the Spanish Gipsies, so much to the 
law passed by Charles III. in 1783 ; and that he should 
characterize it as an enlightened, wise, and liberal law ; dis- 
tinguished by justice and clemency ; and as being calculated 
to exert considerable influence over the destiny of the race ; 
nay, as being the principal, if not the only, cause for the 
" decline" of it in Spain. It was headed : " Rules for repress- 
ing and chastising the vagrant mode of life, and other ex- 
cesses, of those who are called Gitanos." Article II. forbids, 
under penalties, the Gipsies " using their language, dress, or 
vagrant kind of life, which they had hitherto followed." 
Article XI. prohibits them from " wandering about the 
roads and uninhabited places, even with the pretext of 
visiting markets andfairsT Article IX. reads thus : " Those 
who have abandoned the dress, name, language or jargon, 
associations and mamwrs of Gitanos, and shall have, more- 
over, chosen and established a domicile, but shall not have 
devoted themselves to any office or employment, though it 
be only that of day-labourer, shall be proceeded against as 
common vagrants.'^ Articles XYI. and XYII. enact, that 
" the children, and young people of both sexes, who are not 
above sixteen years of age, shall be separated from their 
parents, ivho ivander about and have no employment, [which 
was forbidden by the law itself,] and shall be destined to 
learn something, or shall be placed out in hospices or houses 
of instruction." Article XX. dooms to deaths without remis- 

* Mr, Borrow mentions, in the twenty-second chapter of the " Bibl« in 
Spain," having met several cavalry soldiers from Granada, Gipsies i7ico(/, 
who were surprised at being discovered to be Gipsies. They had been im- 
pressed, but carried on a trade in horses, in league with the captain of their 
company. They said : " We have been to the wars, but not to fight ; we left 
that to the Busue. We have kept together, and like true Galore, have stood 
back to back. We have made money in the wars." 



DISqVISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 393 

ston, Gipsies wJio, for the second time, relapse into their old 
habits. 

I cannot agree with Mr. Borrow, when he says, that this 
law ", differs in character^^ from any which had hitherto been 
enacted, in connection with the body in Spain, if I take 
those preceding it, as given by liimself. The only difference 
between it and some of the previous laws is, that it allowed 
the Gipsy to be admitted to whatever office or employment 
to which he might apply himself, and likewise to any guilds 
or communities ; but it prohibited him from settling in the 
capital, or any of the royal residences ; and forbade him, on 
pain of death, to publicly profess what he was — that is, a 
Gipsy. With the trifling exceptions mentioned, the law of 
Charles III. was as foolish a one as ever was passed 
against the Gipsies. These very exceptions show what the 
letter, whatever the execution, of previous laws must have 
been. Nor can we form any opinion as to the effects the 
law in question had upon the Gipsies, unless we know how 
it was carried out. The law of the Empress Maria Theresa 
produced no effect upon the Gipsies in Hungary. " In Hun- 
gary," says Mr. Borrow, " two classes are free to do what 
they please — the nobility and the Gipsies — the one above 
the law, the other below it." And what did Mr. Borrow 
find the Gipsies in Hungary? In England, tlie last instances 
of condemnation, under the old sanguinary laws, happened 
a few years before the Restoration, although these were not 
repealed till 23d Geo. III., c. 54. The Gipsies in England 
can follow any employment, common to the ordinary natives, 
they please : and how has Mr. Borrow described them 
there? In Scotland, the tribe have been allowed to do 
nothing, not even acknowledge their existence, as Gipsies : 
and this work describes what they are in that country. 

Instead of the law of Charles III. exercising any great 
beneficial influence over the chai-acter of the Spanish Gip- 
sies, I would attribute tlie change in question to wliat Mr. 
Borrow himself says : " It must be remembered that during 
the last seventy years, a revolution lias been progressing in 
Spain, slowly it is true ; and such a revolution may have 
affected the Gitanos." Tlie Spanish Gipsy proverb, " Money 
is to be found in the town, not in the country," has had its in- 
fluence on bringing tlie race to settle in towns. And by resid- 
ing in towns, and not being persecuted, they have, in Mr. Bor- 



894 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

row's own words, "insensibly become more civilized than their 
ancestors, and their habits and manners less ferocious." The 
only good which the law of Charles III. seems to have done 
to the Spanish Gipsies was, as already said, to permit them 
to follow any occupation, and be admitted to any guilds, or 
communities, (barring the capital, and royal residences,) they 
pleased ; but only on the condition, and that on the pain of 
death^ that they renounced every imaginahle thing connected 
with their tribe ; which, we may reasonably assume, no 
Gipsy submitted to, however much in appearance he might 
have done so. 

But it is doubtful if the law of Charles III. was anything 
but the one which it was customary for every Spanish mon- 
arch to issue against the tribe. Mr. Borrow says : " Per- 
haps there is no country in which more laws have been 
framed, having in view the suppression and extinction of 
the Gipsy name, race, and manner of life, than Spain. Every 
monarch, during a period of three hundred years, appears, 
at his accession to the throne, to have considered that one 
of his first and most imperative duties consisted in checking 
and suppressing the robberies, frauds, and other enormities 
of the Gitanos, with which the whole country seems to have 
resounded since the time of their first appearance." The 
fact of so many laws being passed against the Gipsies, is, to 
my mind, ample proof, as I shall afterwards explain, that 
few, if any, of them were put, to any extent, in force ; and 
that the act in question, viewed in itself, as distinct from the 
laws previously in existence, was little more than a form. It 
contains a flourish of liberality, implied in the Gitanos be- 
ing allowed to enter, if they pleased, any guilds, (which they 
were not likely to do,) or communities, (where they were 
doubtless already ;) but it debars, (that is, expels,) them from 
the king's presence, at the capital or any of the royal resi- 
dences. Moreover, it allowed the Gitanotobe " admitted to 
whatever office or employment to which he might apply him- 
Belf," (against which, there probably was, or should have 
been, no law in existence.) His majesty must also impose 
his pragmatical conceit upon his loyal subjects, by telling 
tliem, that "Gitanos are not Gitanos" — that they " do 72ot 
proceed from any infected root ;" and threaten them, that if 
they maintain the contrary, and call them Gitanos, he will 
have them punished for slander ! 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 895 

The Gipsies, after a residence of 350 years in the coun- 
try, would have comparatively little notice taken of them, 
under this law, except when they made themselves really 
obnoxious, or gave an official an occasion to display his 
authority, or his zeal for the public service.* Whatever may 
have been the treatment which the Gipsies experienced at 
the hands of the civil authorities, the church does not seem 
to have disturbed, and far less distressed, them. Mr. Bor- 
row represents a priest of Cordova, formerly an Inquisitor, 
saying to him : " I am not aware of one case of a Gitano 
having been tried or punished by the Inquisition. The In- 
quisition always looked upon them with too much contempt, 
to give itself the slightest trouble concerning them ; for, as 
no danger, either to the State or to the Church of Rome, 
could proceed from the Gitanos, it was a matter of perfect 
indifference to the holy office whether they lived without re- 
ligion or not. The holy office has always reserved its anger 
for people very different ; the Gitano having, at all times, 
been Gente harrata y despreciahle." 

Should the Spanish Gipsies not now assist each other, to 
the extent they did when banditti, under the special pro- 
scription of the Government, it would be absurd to say that 
they were therefore not as much Gipsies as ever they were. 
The change in this respect arose, to some extent, from the 
toleration extended to them, as a people and as individu- 
als, whether by the law, or society in general. Such Gip- 
sies as Mr. Borrow seems to have associated with, in Spain, 
were not likely to be very reliable authority on the ques- 
tions at issue ; for he has described them as " being endowed 
with a kind of instinct, (in lieu of reason,) which assists them 
to a very limited extent, and no further." 

Might it not be in Spain as in Great Britain ? Even in 
England, those that pass for Gipsies are few in number, 
compared to the mixed Gipsies, following various occupa- 
tions ; for a large part of the Gipsy blood in England has, 
as it were, been spread over a large surface of the white. In 
Scotland it is almost altogether so. There seems consider- 

* It would seem that the law in S[)ain, in rej^ard to the Gipsies, stands 
pretty much where it did — that is, the i)eop]e are, in a sense, tolerated, but 
that the use of their language is prohibited, as may be gatliered from an 
incident ineiitioned in the ninth chapter of the " JJible in .Sjmiu," by Mf. 
Borrrw. 



S96 DISQUISITION' ON THE GIPSIES. 

able reason for believing that Gipsydom is, perhaps, as much 
mixed in Spain as in Great Britain, although Mr. Borrow 
has taken no notice of it. We have seen, (page 92,) how 
severe an enactment was passed by Queen Elizabeth, against 
" any person, whether natural born or stranger, to be seen 
in the fellowship of the Gipsies, or disguised like them." In 
the law of Ferdinand and Isabella, the first passed against 
the Gipsies, in Spain, a class of people is mentioned, in con- 
junction with them, but distinguished from them, by the 
name of " foreign tinkers." , Philip III., at Belan, in Portu- ' 
gal, in 1619, commands all Gipsies to quit the kingdom 
within six months. " Those who should wish to remain are 
to establish themselves in cities, and are not to be allowed 
to use the dress, name, and language, in order, tliat foras- 
much as they are not such by nation, (!) this name, and man- 
ner of life, may be for evermore confounded and forgotten(!)" 
Philip IV., on the 8th May, 1633, declares " that they are 
not Gipsies by origin or nature, but have adopted this form 
of life (!)" This idea of " Gitanos not being Gitanos, and 
not proceeding from any infected root," was not original 
with Charles IIL,in 1783 ; his proclamation having been in 
formal keeping with previous ones, whether of his own 
country, or, as in Scotland, in 1603, " recommended by the 
example of some other realm," (page 111.) There had evi- 
dently been a great curiosity to know who some of the " not 
Gipsies by origin and nature," (evidently judging from their 
appearance,) could be ; for Philip lY. enacts, " that they 
shall, within two months, leave the quarters where now they 
live loith the denomination of Gitanos, and that they shall 
separate from each other, and mingle loith the other inhabi- 
tants : that the ministers of justice are to observe, luith pa?'- 
ticular diligence, whether they hold communication ivith each 
other, or marry among themselves^ 

The " foreign tinkers" mentioned in the Act of Ferdi- 
nand and Isabella, and the individuals distinguished from 
the Gipsies in that of Queen Elizabeth, were doubtless mixed 
Gipsies ; whose relationship with the Gipsies proper, and 
isolation from the common natives, are very distinctly pointed 
out in the above extract from the law of Philip IV. Mr. 
Borrow expresses a great difficulty to understand who these 
people could be, if not Gipsies. How easy it is to get rid 
of the difficulty, by concluding that they were Gipsies whoso 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 39T 

blood, perhaps for the most part, was native ; and who had 
been brought into the body in the manner explained in the 
Preface to this work, and more fully illustrated in this Dis- 
quisition. If Mr. Borrow found in Spain a half-pay captain, 
in the service of Donna Isabel, with flaxen hair, a thorough 
Gipsy, who spoke Gipsy and Latin, with great fluency, and 
his cousin, Jara, in all probability another Gipsy, what diffi- 
culty can there be in believing that the " foreign tinkers," 
or tinkers of any kind, now to be met with in Spain, are, 
like the same class in Great Britain and Ireland, Gipsies of 
mixed blood? Indeed, the young Spaniard, to whom I have 
alluded, informs me that the Gipsies in Spain are very much 
mixed. Mr. Borrow himself admits that the Gipsy blood in 
Spain has been mixed ; for, in speaking of the old Gipsy 
counts, he says : " It was the counts who determined what in- 
dividuals were to be admitted into the fellowship and privi- 
leges of the Gitanos They (tlie Gipsies) were 

not to teach tlie language to any but those who, by birth or 
inauguration, belonged to that sect." And he gives a 
case in point, in the bookseller of Logrono, who was mar- 
ried to the only daughter of a Gitano count ; upon whose 
death, the daughter and son-in-law succeeded to the author- 
ity which he had exercised in the tribe. If the Gipsies in 
Spain were not mixed in point of blood, why should they 
have taken Mr. Borrow for a Gipsy, as he said they did ? 
The persecutions to which the race in Spain were subjected 
were calculated to lead to a mixture of the blood, as in 
Scotland, for tlie reasons given in the Preface ; but, perhaps, 
not to the same extent ; as the Spanish Acts seem to have 
given the tribe an opportunity of escape, under the condi- 
tion of settling, &c., &c., which would probably be complied 
with, nominally, for the time being ; while the face of part 
of the country would afford a refuge till the storm had 
blown over. (See pages 71 and 114.) 

It is very likely that the following people, described by 
Paget, in his travels in Central Europe, are mixed Gipsies. 
He says : " h\ almost every part of the Austrian dominions 
are to be found a kind of wandering tinkers, wire-workers, 
and menders of crockery, whose language appears to be 
that of the Sclaves, who travel about, and, at certain sea- 
sons, return to their own settlements, where tlie women and 
children remain during their absence." The wandering 



898 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

Kothwelsh, perhaps the same mentioned by Paget, may be 
mixed Gipsies. In the Encyclopsedia Britannica they are 
spoken of as " a vagabond people, in the south of Germany, 
who have sometimes been confounded with the Gipsies." 
The appearance of such persons has nothing to do with 
their being, or not being, members of Gipsydom.* 

I will now consider the present condition of the Scottish 
Gipsies. But, to commence with, what is the native capacity 
of a Gipsy ? It is good. Take a common tinkering Gipsy, 
without a particle of education, and compare him with a 
common native, without a particle of education, and the tin- 
ker, in point of smartness, is worth, perhaps, a dozen of the 
other. If not a learned, he is at least a travelled, Athenian, 
considerably rubbed up by his intercourse with the world. 
This is the proper way by which to judge of the capacity 
of a Gipsy. It will differ somewhat according to the coun- 
tries and circumstances in which he is found. Grellmann, 
about the year 1780, says, of evidently the more original 
kind of Hungarian Gipsies : " Imagine a people of childish 
thoughts, whose minds are filled with raw, undigested con- 
ceptions, guided more by sense than reason, and using under- 
standing and reflection only so far as they promote the 
gratification of any particular appetite ; and you have a 
perfect sketch of the general character of the Gipsies." 
" They are lively, uncommonly loquacious, fickle to an ex- 
treme ; consequently, inconstant in their pursuits." Bischoff, 
in speaking of the German Gipsies, in 1827, says : " They 
have a good understanding, an excellent memory, are quick 
of comprehension, lively and talkative." Mr. Borrow, in 
evident allusion to the very lowest, and most ignorant, class 
of the Spanish Gipsies, says : " They seem to hunt for their 
bread, as if they were not of the human, but rather of the 
animal, species, and, in lieu of reason, were endowed with a 
kind of instinct, which assists them to a very limited ex- 
tent, and no further." I admit that this class of Gipsies 
may have as little intellect as there is in an ant-catcher's 
nose, but the remark can apply to them exclusively. 

Without taking into account any opinion expressed by 
other writers on the Gipsies, Mr. Borrow says : " Should it 

* Paget says these tinkers leave their women and children at home when 
on their travels. That is not customary with the tribe, altliough it may 
be their habit in the Austrian dominions. 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 399 

be urged that certain individuals have found them very dif- 
ferent from what they are represented in these volumes, 
('The Gipsies in Spain/) he would frankly say that he 
yields no credit to the presumed fact." And he refers his 
readers to his Spanish-Gipsy vocabulary for the words hoax 
and hocus, as a reason for such an opinion ! He himself 
gives descriptions of quite a dijBferent caste. For example, 
he speaks of a rich Gipsy appearing in a fair, at Leon, in 
Spain, with a twenty thousand dollar credit in his pocket. 
And of another Gipsy, a native of Constantinople, who had 
visited the most remote and remarkable portions of the world, 
" passing over it like a cloud ;" and who spoke several dia- 
lects of the Malay, and understood the original language of 
Java. This Gipsy, he says, dealt in precious stones and 
poisons ; and that there is scarcely a bey or satrap in Persia, 
or Turkey, whom he has not supplied with both. In Mos- 
cow, he says, " There are not a few who inhabit stately 
houses, go abroad in elegant equipages, and are behind the 
higher orders of the Russians, neither in appearance nor 
mental acquirements." From these specimens, one might 
naturally conclude that there was some room for discrimi- 
nation among different classes of Gipsies, instead of rating 
them as having the intellect of ant-catchers. 

When the Gipsies appeared in Scotland, the natives them- 
selves, as I have already said, were nearly wholly unedu- 
cated. Many of the Gipsies, then, and long afterwards, 
being smart, presumptuous, overbearing, audacious fellows, 
seem to have assumed great importance, and been looked 
upon as no small people by the authorities and the inhabit- 
ants of the country. In every country in which they have 
settled, they seem to have instinctively and very readily 
appreciated the ways and spirit of the people, while, at the 
same time, they preserved what belonged particularly to 
themselves — their Gipsyism. Gipsydom being, in its very 
essence, a " working in among other people," " a people 
within a people," it followed, that marriages between adopted 
Gipsies, and even Gipsies tliemselves, and the ordinary na- 
tives, would be encouraged, were it only to contribute to 
their existence in the country. The issue of such marriages, 
go where they might, would become centres of little Gipsy 
circles, which, in their turn, would tlirow off members that 
would become the centres of other little Gipsy circles ; the 



400 DISQUISITION ON TEE GIPSIES. 

leaven of Gipsydom leavening into a lump everything that 
proceeded out of itself. To such an extent has this been 
followed, that, at the present day, the Scottish Gipsies — at 
least the generality of them — have every outward charac- 
teristic of Scotchmen. But the secret of being Gipsies, 
which they carry in their bosoms, makes them appear a little 
queer to others ; they have a something about them that 
makes them look somewhat odd to the other Scotchman, who 
is not " one of them," although he does not know the cause 
of it. 

Upon, or shortly after, their arrival, they seem to have 
divided the country among themselves ; each tribe exercis- 
ing its rights over its own territory, to the exclusion of 
others, just as a native lord would have done against other 
natives ; with a system of passes, regulated by councils of 
local or provincial chieftains, and a king over all. The 
Scottish Gipsies, from the very first, seem to have been 
thoroughly versed in their vocation, from having had about 
a hundred years' experience, in some other part of Europe, 
before they settled in Scotland ; although stragglers of their 
race evidently had made their appearance in the country 
many years before. What might have been the number of 
Gipsies then in Scotland, it is impossible to conjecture ; it 
must have been considerable, if we judge from what is said 
in Wraxall's History of France, vol. 2, page 32, when, in 
reference to the Act of Queen Elizabeth, in 1563, he states, 
that, in her reign, the Gipsies througliout England were sup- 
posed to exceed ten thousand. The employments of the 
original Gipsies, within their respective districts, seem to 
have been what is described under the head of Tweed-dale 
and Clydesdale Gipsies ; that is, tinkering, making spoons 
and other wares, petty trading, telling fortunes, living as 
much as possible at free-quarters, dealing in horses, and 
visiting fairs. It is extremely likely that those who trav- 
elled Tweed-dale, for example, always averaged about the 
same number, down to the time of the American Revolution, 
(except in times of civil commotion, when they would have 
the country pretty much to themselves,) and were confined 
to such of the families of the respective tribes, or the mem- 
bers of these families, in whom the right was hereditary. 
The consequence seems to have been, that perhaps the 
younger members of the family had to betake themselves to 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 401 

towns and villages, and engage in whatever tliey could pos- 
sibly turn their hands to. Some would, of course, take to 
the highway, and kindred fields of industry. Admitting 
that the circumstances attending the Gipsies in Scotland, at 
that time, and subsequently, were the same, as regards the 
manner of making a living, which attend those in England, 
at the present day, (with this difference, that they could 
more easily roam at large then than now,) and we can have 
no difficulty in coming to a conclusion how the surplus of 
the tented Gipsy population was disposed of. Among the 
English Gipsies of to-day, taking year with year, and tent 
with tent, there is, yearly, a continual moving out of the tent ; 
a kind of Gipsy crop is annually gathered from tented Gip- 
sydom ; and some of these gradually find themselves drawn 
into almost every kind of mechanical or manual labour, even 
to working in coal-mines and iron-works ; others become 
peddlers, itinerant auctioneers, and tramps of almost every 
imaginable kind ; not to speak of those who visit fairs, in 
various capacities, or engage in various settled traffic. 
'^ Put a Gipsy to any occupation you like, and he shows a 
capability and handiness that is astonishing, if he can only 
muster up steadiness in his new vocation. But it is difficult 
to break him off the tent ; he will return, and lounge, for 
weeks together, about that of his father, or some other rela- 
tive. But get him fairly out of the tent, married, and, in a 
degree, settled to some occupation, in a town where there 
are not too many of his own race in close proximity to him, 
but where he gets mixed up, in his daily avocation, with the 
common natives, and he sooner or later falls into the ranks. 
Still, his intimate associations are always with Gipsies ; for 
his ardent attachment to his people, and a corresponding 
resentment of the prejudice that exists against it, keep him 
aloof from any intimate intercourse with the ordinary in- 
habitants ; his associations with them hardly jever extending 
beyond the commons or the public-house. If he experiences 
an attack from his old habits, he will take to the tramp, from 
town to town, working at his mechanical occupation ; leav- 
ing his wife and cliildren at home. But it is not long before 
he returns. His children, having been born and reared in a 
town, become habituated to a settled life, like other people. 
There is a vast amount of ambition about every Gipsy, 
which is displayed, among the humble classes, in all kinds 



402 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

of athletic exercises.* The same peculiarity is discernible 
among the educated Scottish Gipsies. Carrying about with 
them the secret of being Gipsies, which they assume would 
be a terrible imputation cast upon them by the ordinary na- 
tives, if they knew of it, they, as it were, fly up, like game- 
cocks, and show a disposition to surpass the others in one 
way or other ; particularly as they consider themselves bet- 
ter than the common inhabitants. They must always be 
" cock of the company," master of ceremonies, or stand at 
the top of the tree, if possible. The reader may ask, how 
do they consider themselves better than the ordinary natives ? 
And I answer, that, from having been so long in Scotland, 
they are Scotchmen, (as indeed they are, for the most part, in 
point of blood,) and consider themselves as good as the 
others — nay, smarter than others in the same sphere, which, 
generally speaking, they are ; and, in addition to that, being 
Gipsies, a great deal better. They pique themselves on 
their descent, and on being in possession of secrets which 
are peculiarly and exclusively theirs, and which they im- 
agine no other knows, or will ever know. They feel that 
they are part and parcel of those mysterious beings who are 
an enigma to others, no less than to themselves. Besides 
this vanity, which is peculiar to the Gipsy everywhere, the 
Scottish Gipsies have chimed in with all the native Scotch 
ideas of clauism, kith, kin, and consequence, as regards 
family, descent, and so forth ; and applied them so pecu- 
liarly to themselves, as to render their opinion of their body 
as something of no small importance. Some of them, 
whose descent leads them more directly back to the tented 
stock, speak of their families having possessed this district 
or the other district of the country, as much, almost, as we 
would expect to hear from some native Scottish chieftain. 

As regards the various phases of history through which 
many of the Scottish Gipsies have passed, we can only form 
an estimate from what has been observed in recent times. 
The further back, however, we go, the greater were their 
facilities to rise to a position in society ; for this reason, 

* " I was one of these verminous ones, one of these great sin-breeders ; 
I infected all the youth of the town where I was born with all manner of 
youthful vanities. The neighbours counted me so ; my practice proved me 
so : wherefore Christ Jesus took me first, and taking me first, the contagion 
was much allayed aU the town over." — Bimyan. 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 408 

that a very little education, joined to good natural talents, 
were all that was necessary, in a mixed Gipsy, to raise 
himself in the world, at the time to which I allude. He 
could leave the district in which, when a youth, he had 
travelled, with his parents ; settle in a town where he 
was not personally known ; commence some traffic, and, 
by his industry, gradually raise himself up, and acquire 
wealth. He would not lack a proper degree of innate man- 
ners, or personal dignity, to deport himself with propriety 
in any ordinary company into which he might enter. Even 
at the present day, in Scotland, a poor Gipsy will commence 
life with a wheelbarrow, then get a donkey-cart, and, in a 
few years, have a very respectable crockery-shop. I am in- 
timate with an English mixed Gipsy family, the father of 
which commenced life as a basket-maker, was afterwards a 
constable, and now occasionally travels with the tent. His 
son is an M. D., for I have seen his diploma ; and is a smart, 
intelligent fellow, and quite an adept at chemistry. To 
illustrate the change that has taken place among some of the 
Scottish Gipsies, within the last fifty years, I may mention 
that the grand-children of a prominent Gipsy, mentioned in 
chapter Y ., follow, at the present day, the medical, the legal, 
and the mercantile professions. Such occurrences have been 
frequent in Scotland. There are the cases mentioned by our 
author ; such as one of the Faas rising to such eminence in 
the mercantile world, at Dunbar ; and another who rose to 
the rank of lieutenant in the East India Company's service ; 
and the Baillie family, which furnished a captain and a 
quarter-master to the army, and a country surgeon. These 
are but instances of many others, if they were but known. 
Some may object, that these were not full-blood Gipsies. 
That, I readily admit. But the objection is more nominal 
than real. If a white were to proceed to the interior of 
the American continent, and cast his lot with a tribe of 
Indians, his children would, of course, be expected to be 
superior, in some respects, to the children of the native 
blood exclusively, owing to what the father miglit be sup- 
posed to teach them. But it is different in tlie case of a 
white marrying a Scottish Gipsy woman, born and reared in 
the same community with himself; for the white, in general 
cases, brings only his blood, which enables the children, if 
they take after himself, in appearance, to enter such places 



404 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

as the black Gipsies would not enter, or might not be 
allowed to enter. The white father, in such a case, might 
not even be so intelligent as the Gipsy mother. Be that as 
it may, the individuals to whom I have alluded were nothing 
but Gipsies ; possibly they did not know when, or through 
whom, the white blood was introduced among them ; they 
knew, at least, that they were Gipsies, and that the links 
which connected them with the past were substantially 
Gipsy links. Besides the Scottish Gipsies rising to respect- 
able positions in life, by their own exertions, I can well be- 
lieve that Gipsydom has been well brought up through the 
female line ; especially at a time when females, and particu- 
larly country females, were rude and all but uneducated. 
Who more capable of doing that than the lady Baillies, of 
Tweed-dale, and the lady Wilsons, of Stirlingshire ? Such 
Gipsy girls could " turn natives round their little fingers," 
and act, in a way, the lady at once ; " turn over a new leaf," 
and " pin it down ;" and conduct themselves with great 
propriety. 

Upon a superior Scottish Gipsy settling in a town, and 
especially a small town, and wishing to appear respectable, 
he would naturally take a pew in the church, and attend 
public worship, were it only, as our author asserts, to hide 
the fact of liis being a Gipsy. Because, among the Scotch, 
there is that prying inquisitiveness into their neiglibours' 
affairs, that compels a person to be very circumspect, in all 
his actions, movements, and expressions, if he wishes to be 
thought anything of, at all. The habit of attending church 
would then become as regular, in the Gipsy's family, as in 
the families of the ordinary natives, and, in a great measure, 
proceed from as legitimate a motive. Tlie family would be 
very polite, indeed, extra polite, to their neighbours. After 
they had lulled to sleep every suspicion of what they were, 
or, by their really good conduct, had, according to the 
popular idea, " ceased to be Gipsies," they would naturally 
encourage a formal acquaintance with respectable (and 
nothing but respectable,) people in the place. The Gipsy 
himself, a really good fellow at heart, honourable in his 
dealings, but fond of a bargain, when he could drive a bar- 
gain, and, moreover, a jovial fellow, would naturally make 
plenty of business and out-door friends, at least. Rising in 
circumstances and th>^ public esteem, he makes up his mind 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES, 405 

that his children ought to be something better than himself, 
at all events : in short, that they ought not to be behind 
those of his respectable neighbours. Some of them he, 
therefore, educates for a liberal profession. The Gipsy 
himself becomes more and more ambitious : besides attend- 
ing church, he must become an elder of the church ; or it 
may be that the grace of God takes hold of him, and brings 
him into the fold. He and his wife conduct themselves 
with nmch propriety ; but some of the boys are rather wild ; 
the girls, however, behave well. Altogether, the whole 
family is very much thought of. Such is a Scottish Gipsy 
family, (the parents of which are now dead,) that I have in 
my mind at the present moment. No suspicion existed in 
regard to the father, but there was a breath of suspicion in 
regard to the mother. But what difference did that make? 
What knowledge had the public of the nature of Gipsydom ? 
Consider, then, that the process which I have attempted 
to describe has been going on, more or less, for at least the 
last three hundred and fifty years ; and I may well ask, 
where might we not expect to meet with Gipsies, in Scotland, 
at the present day ? And I reply, that we will meet with 
them in every sphere of Scottish life, not excepting, perhaps, 
the very highest. There are Gipsies among the very best 
Edinburgh families. I am well acquainted with Scotchmen, 
youths and men of middle age, of education and charac- 
ter, and who follow very respectable occupations, that are 
Gipsies, and who admit that they are Gipsies. But, apart 
from my own knowledge, I ask, is it not a fact, that, a few 
years ago, a pillar of the Scottish church, at Edinburgh, 
upon the occasion of founding a society for the reformation 
of the poor class of Scottish Gipsies, and frequently there- 
after, said that he himself was a Gipsy ? I ask, again, is not 
that a fact ? It is a fact. And such a man I Such prayers I 
Such deep-toned, sonorous piety I Such candour I Such 
judgment! Such amiability of manners! How much re- 
spected I How worthy of respect ! The good, the godly, 
the saintly doctor 1 When will we meet his like again ?* 

* " Grand was the repose of his lofty brow, dark eye, and aspect of soft 
and melancholy meaning. It was a face from which every evil and earthly 
passion seemed purged. A deep gravity lay upon his countenance, which 
had the solemnity, without the sternness, of one of our old reformers. You 
could almost fancy a halo completing its apostolic character." 



406 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

This leads me to speak of a high-class Scottish Gipsr 
family — the Falls, who settled at Dunbar, as merchants, al- 
luded to under the chapter on Border Gipsies.* Who can 
doubt that they were Gipsies to the last ? How could they 
avoid being Gipsies ? The Gipsies were their people ; their 
blood was Gipsy blood. How could they get rid of their 
blood and descent ? Could they throw either off, as they 
would an old coat ? Could medical science rid them of 
either ? Assuredly not. They admitted their descent, over 
their cups. But being descendants of Gipsies, and yet not 
Gipsies, is a contradiction in terms. The principles which 
regulate the descent of other Gipsy families applied equally 
to theirs. The fact that Mrs. Fall had the history of her 
people, in the act of leaving Yetholm, represented in tapes- 
try, may be taken as but a straw that indicated how tlie 
wind blew. Was not old Will Faa, the Gipsy king, down 
to his death, at the end of the first American war, admitted 
to their hospitality as a relative ? And do not the Scottish 

* Burns alludes to this family, thus : " Passed through the most glorious 
corn country I ever saw, till I reached Dunbar, a neat little town. Dine 
with Provost Fall, an eminent merchant, and most respectable character, 
but indescribable, as he exhibits no marked traits. Mrs. Fall, a genius in 
painting ; fully more clever in the fine arts and sciences than my friend 
Lady Wauchope, without her consummate assurance of her own abilities." — 
Life of Burns, by Robert Chambers. 

The crest of the Falls, of Dunbar, was three boars' heads, couped ; that of 
Baillie, of Lamington, is one boar's head, couped. In the Statistical Account 
of Scotland, (1835,) appears the following notice of this family : " A family, 
of the name of Fall, established themselves at Dunbar, and became, during 
the last century, the most extensive merchants in Scotland. They were 
long the chief magistrates of the burgh, and preferred the public good to 
their own profit. They have left no one to bear their name, not even a 
stone to tell where they lie ; but they will long be remembered for their en- 
terprise and public spirit." There is apparently a reason for " not even a 
stone being left to tell where they lie;" for in Hoyland's " Survey of the 
Gipsies" appeared the account of Baillie Smith, in which it is said : " The 
descendants of Faa now take the name of Fall, from the Messrs. Fall, of 
Dunbar, who, they pride themselves in saying, are of the same stock and 
lineage /" which seems to have frightened their connexions at being known 
to be Gipsies. 

Let aU that has been said of the Falls be considered as their monument 
and epitaph ; so that their memories may be preserved as long as this 
work exists. 

It would be interesting to know who the Captain Fall was, who visited 
Dunbar, with an American ship-of-war, during the time of Paul Jones. He 
might have been a descendant of a Gipsy, sent to the plantations, in the 
olden times. There are, as I have said before, a great many scions of Gipsy 
Faas, under one name or other, scattered over the world. 



DISQUISITION ON TEE GIPSIES. 407 

Gipsies, at the present day, claim them to have been Gip- 
sies ? Why might not the Falls glory in being Egyptians 
among themselves, but not to others ? Were not their an- 
cestors kings ? " Wee kings," no doubt, but still kings ; 
one of them being the " loved John Faw," of James Y., whom 
all the tribe consider as a great man, (which, doubtless, he 
was, in that barbarous age,) and the principal of the thirteen 
patriarchs of Scottish Gipsydom. Was not a Gipsy king, 
(themselves being Gipsies,) an ancestor of far more respect, 
in their eyes, than the founder of a native family, in their 
neighbourhood ; who, in the reign of Charles II., was a com- 
mon country snvp, and most likely commenced life with 
" whipping the cat" around the country, for fivepence a 
day, and victuals and clippings ?* 

The truth of the matter is, these Falls must have con- 
sidered themselves a world better than other people, merely 
on account of their being Gipsies, as all Gipsies do, arising, 
in part, from that antagonistic spirit of opposition which the 
prejudice of their fellow- creatures is so much calculated to 
stir up in their minds. Saying, over their cups, that they 
were descended from the Faws, the historical Gipsy name 
in Scotland, did not divulge very much to the public. For 
what idea had the public of the working of Gipsydom — 
what idea of the Gipsy language ? Did the public know of 
the existence of a Gipsy language in Scotland ? In all prob- 
ability, it generally did not. If the public heard a Tinkler 
use a strange word, all that it would think of it would be, 
that it was cant, confined to vagabonds strolling the coun- 
try. Would it ever dream that what the vagabonds used 
was carefully preserved and spoken among the great 
Falls, of Dunijar, within the sanctity of their own dwellings, 
as it assuredly must have been ? Would the public believe 
in such a thing, if even its own ears were made the witnesses 
to it ? Was the love which the Falls had for their Yeth- 
ol.m connexion confined to a mere group of their ancestors 
worked in tapestry ? Where was the Gipsy language, dur- 
ing all this time ? Assuredly it was well preserved in their 
family. If it showed the least symptoms of falling off, how 
easily could the mothers bring into the family, as servants, 

* Whipping the cat : Tailoring from house to house. The cat is whipped 
by females, as well aa males, in America, in some parts of which the ex- 
pression is current. 



408 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

other Gipsies, who would teach it to the children ! For, be- 
sides the dazzling hold which the Gipsy language takes of 
the mind of a Gipsy, as the language of those black, mysteri- 
ous heroes from whom he is descended, the keeping of it 
up forms the foundation of that self-respect which a Gipsy 
has for himself, amidst the prejudice of the world ; from 
which, at the bottom of his heart, whatever his position in 
life, or character, or associations, may be, he considers him- 
self separated. I am decidedly of opinion that all the do- 
mestics about this Fall family were Gipsies of one caste, 
colour, condition, or what not. 

Then, we are told that Miss Fall, who married Sir John 
Anstruther, of Elie, baronet, was looked down upon by her 
husband's friends, and received no other naine than Jenny 
Faa ; and that she was indirectly twitted with being a 
Gipsy, by the rabble, while attending an election in which 
Sir John was a candidate. What real satisfaction could Jenny, 
or any other Gipsy, have for ordinary natives of the coun- 
try, when she was conscious of being what she was, and how 
she was spoken of by her husband's relatives and the public 
generally ? She would take comfort in telling her " wondei'- 
ful story" to her children, (for I presume she would have 
children,) who would sympathize with her ; and in convers- 
ing with such of her own race as were near her, were it 
only her trusty domestics. It is the Gipsy woman who feels 
the prejudice that exists towards her race the most acutely; 
for she has the rearing of the children, and broods more 
over the history of her people. As the needle turns to the 
pole, so does the mind of the Gipsy woman to Gipsydom. 

We are likewise told that this eminent Gipsy family were 
connected, by marriage, with the Footies, of Balgonie ; the 
Coutts, afterwards bankers ; Collector Whyte, of Kirkaldy, 
and Collector Melville, of Dunbar. We may assume, as a 
mathematical certainty, that Gipsydom, in a refined form, is 
in existence in the descendants of these families, particu- 
larly in such of them as were connected with this Gipsy 
family by the female side.* 

* Of the Gipsies at Moscow, the following is the substance of what Mr. 
Borrow says : " Those who have been accustomed to consider the Gipsy as 

a wandering outcast will be surprised to learn that, 

amongst the Gipsies of Moscow, there are not a few wlio inhabit stately 
houses, go abroad iu elegant equipages, and are behind the higher order of 



msqmsiTioN on the gipsies. 409 

A person who has never considered this subject, or any 
other cognate to it, may imagine that a Gipsy reproaches 
himself with his own blood. Pshaw! Where will you 
find a man, or a tribe of men, under the heavens, that will 
do that ? It is not in human nature to do it. All men 
venerate their ancestors, whoever they have been. A Gipsy 
is, to an extraordinary degree, proud of his blood. " I have 
very little of the blood, myself," said one of them, " but just 
come and see my wife I" But people may say that the an- 
cestors of the Falls were thieves. And were not all the 
Borderers, in their way, the worst kind of thieves ? They 
might not have stolen from their nearest relatives ; but, with 
that exception, did they not steal from each other ? Now, 
Gipsies never, or hardly ever, steal from each other. Were 
not all the Elliots and Armstrongs thieves of the first 
water ? Were not the Scotts and the Kers thieves, long 
after the Gipsies entered Scotland ? When the servants of 
Scott of Harden drove out his last cow, and said, " There goes 
Harden's cow," did not the old cow-stealer say, " It will soon 
be Harden's %e" — meaning, that he would set out on a cow- 
stealing expedition ? In fact, he lived upon spoil. Was it 
not his lady's custom, on the last bullock being killed, to 
place on the table a dish, which, on being uncovered, was 
found to contain a pair of clean spurs — a hint, to her hus- 
band and his followers, that they must shift for their next 
meal ? The descendants of these Scotts, and the Scottish 
public generally, look, with the utmost complacency and 
pride, upon the history of such families ; yet would be very 
apt to make a great ado, if the ancestress of a Gipsy should, 
in such a predicament, have hung out a cock's tail at tlie 
mouth of her tent, as a hint to her " laddies" to look after 

Russians neither in appearance nor mental acquirements The 

sums obtained by the Gipsy females, by the exercise of their art (singini^ 
in the choirs of Moscow,) enable them to support their relatives in afflu- 
ence and luxury. Some are married to Russians ; and no one who has 
visited Russia can but be aware that a lovely and accomj)lislied countess, 
of the noble and numerous family of Tolstoy is, by birtli, a Zigana, and was 
originally one of the principal attractions of a Romany choir at Moscow." 

This short notice appears unsatisfactory, considering, as Mr. Borrow 
eays, that one of his principal motives for visiting Moscow was to hold 
communication with the Gipsies. It might have occurred to him to en- 
quire what relation the children of such marriages would bear to Gipsydom 
generally ; that is, woidd they be initiated in the mysteries, and taught the 
language, and hold themselves to be Gipsies? It is evident, however, tlmt 
the Gipsy-drilling process is going- on among the Russian nobility. 

18 



410 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

poultry. Common sense tells us, that, for one excuse to be 
offered for such conduct, on the part of the landed-gentnj 
of the country, a hundred can be found for the ancestor of a 
Gipsy — an unfortunate wanderer on tlie face of the earth, 
who was hunted about, like a wolf of the forest.* 

And what shall we say of our Highland thieves ? Higli- 
landers may be more touchy on this point, for their ances- 
tors were the^last of the British race to give up that kind of 
life. Talk of the laws passed against the Gipsies ! Vari- 
ous of our Scottish monarchs issued decrees against " the 
wicked thieves and limmers of the clans and surnames, in- 
habiting the Highlands and Isles," accusing " the chieftains 
principal of the branches worthy to be esteemed the very 
authors, fosterers, and maintainers, of the wicked deeds of 
the vagabonds of tlieir clans and surnames.'' Indeed, the 
doweries of the chiefs' daughters were made up by a share 
of the booty collected on their expeditions. The Highlands 
were, at one time, little better than a nest of thieves ; 
thieving from each other, and more particularly from their 
southern neighbours. It is notorious that robbery, in the 
Highlands, was " held to be a calling not merely innocent, 
but honourable ;" and that a high-born Highland warrior 
was " much more becomingly employed, in plundering the 
lands of others, than in tilling his own." At stated times of 
the year, such as at Candlemas, regular bands of Highland- 
ers, the sons of gentlemen and what not, proceeded south 
in quest of booty, as part of their winter's provisions. The 
Highlanders might even have been compared, at one time, to 
as many tribes of Afghans. Mr. Skene, the historian of the 
Highlands, and himself a Higlilander, says that tlie High- 
landers " believed that they had a right to plunder the peo- 
ple of the low country, whenever it was in their "poioerT We 

* On his return with his gallant prey, he passed a very large haj'-stack. 
It occurred to the provident laird that this would be extremely convenient 
to fodder his new stock of cattle ; but, as no means of transporting it were 
obvious, he was fain to take leave of it, with the apostrophe, now become 
proverbial, " By my saul, had ye but four feet, ye should not stand tang there." 
In short, as Froissart says of a similar class of feudal robbers, " Nothing 
came amiss to them that was not too heavy or too hot." Sir Walter Scott 
Bpeaks, in the most jocular manner, of an ancestress who had a curious 
hand at pickling the beef which her husband stole ; and that there was not a 
stain upon his- escutcheon, barring Border theft and high treason. — lAck- 
harfs Life of Sir Walter Scott. 

We should never forget that a " hawk's a hawk," whether it is a falcon 
or a mosquito hawk, which is the smallest of all hawks. 



DISQUISITION OK THE GIPSIES, 411 

naturally ask, how did the Highlanders acquire this right of 
plunder ? Were they ever proscribed ? AVere any of them 
hung, merely for being Highlanders ? No. What plea, 
then, did the Plighlanders set up, in justification of this 
wholesale robbery ? — " They believed, from tradition, that 
the Lowlands, in old times, were the possessions of their an- 
cestors/' (Skene.) But that was no excuse for their plun- 
dering each other.* 

The Gipsy's ordinary pilfering was confined to such petty 
things as " hens and peats at pleasure," " cutting a bit lamb's 
throat," and " a mouthfu' o' grass and a pickle corn, for the 
cuddy" — " things that a farmer body ne'er could miss." But 
your Highlanders did not content themselves with such 
" needles and pins ;" they must have " horned cattle." If 
the coast was clear, they would table their drawn dirks, 
and commence their spidzie, by making their victims furnish 
them with what was necessary to fill their bellies ; upon the 
strength of which, they would " lift" whatever they could 
carry and drive, or take its equivalent in black-mail. 

What an effort is made by our McGregors, at the present 
day, to scrape up kin with this or the other bandit Mc- 
Gregor ; and yet how apt the McGregor is to turn up his 
nose — just as Punch, only, could make him turn it up — if a 
Gipsy were to step out, and say, that he was a descendant, 
and could speak the language, of Will Baillie, mentioned 
under the head of Tweed-dale and Clydesdale Gipsies : a 
Gipsy, described by my ancestor, (and he could judge,) to 
have been " the handsomest, the best dressed, the best look- 
ing, and the best bred, man he ever saw ; and the best 

* Sir Walter Scott makes Fitz-James, in tho " Lady of the Lake," say to 
Roderick Dhu : 

" But then, thy chieftain's robber life ! — 
Winning mean prey by causeless strife. 
Wrenching from ruined Lowland swain 
IJis herds and harvests reared in vain — 
Methinks a soul like thine should scorn t 

The spoils from such foul foray borne." 

The Gael beheld him, grim the while. 
And answered with disdainful smile, — 



Where live the mountain chiefs, who hold 
That plundering Lowland field and fold 
Is aught but retribution true ? 
Seek other cause 'gainst Roderick Dhu !' " 



410 DISQUISITIO¥ ON THE GIPSIES. 

swordsman in Scotland, for, with his weapon in his hand, 
and his back at a wall, he could set almost everything, sav- 
ing fire-arms, at defiance ; a man who could act the gentle- 
man, the robber, the sorner, and the tinker, whenever it 
answered his purpose."* And yet, some of this man's de- 
scendants will doubtless be found among our medical doc- 
tors, and even the clergy. I recollect our author pointing 
out a clergyman of the Scottish Church, who, he was pretty 
sure, was "one of them." What name could have stood 
lower, at one time, than McGregor? Both by, legal and 
social proscription, it was looked upon as vagabond ; and 
doubtless the clan brought it, primarily and principally, upon 
themselves ; but as for the rapine they practised upon their 
neighbours, and the helpless southerners, they were, at first, 
no worse, in that respect, than others of their nation. Are 
the McGregors sure that there are no Gipsies among them ? 
There are plenty of Gipsies of, at least, the name of Mc- 
Gregor, known to both the Scottish and English Gipsies. 
What more likely than some of the McGregors, when " out," 
and leading their vagabond lives, getting mixed up with the 
better kind of mixed Gipsies ? They were both leading a 
wild life, and it is not unlikely that some of the McGregors, 
of even no small consequence, might have been led captive 
by such Gipsy girls as the lady Baillies, of Tweed-dale. Let 
a Gipsy once be grafted upon a native family, and she rises 
with it ; leavens the little circle of which she is the centre, 
and leaves it, and its descendants, for all time coming, 
Gipsies. 

I now come to ask, what constitutes a Gipsy, at the ])resent 
day ? And common sense replies : the simple fact of know- 
ing from whom he is descended, that is, who he is, in con- 
nection with having the Gipsy words and signs, although 
these are not absolutely necessary. It requires no argument 
to show that there is no tribe or nation but finds something 
that leads it to cling to its' origin and descent, and not de- 
spise the blood that runs in its own veins, although it may 
despise the condition or conduct of some of its members. 
Where shall we find an exception to this rule ? The Gipsy 
race is no exception to it. Civilize a Gipsy, and you make 
him a civilized Gipsy ; educate him, and you make him an 
educated Gipsy ; bring him up to any profession you like, 

* See page 202. 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 413 

Christianize him as much as you may, and he still remains a 
Gipsy ; because he is of the Gipsy race, and all the influ- 
ences of nature and revelation do not affect tlie questions 
of blood, tribe, and nationality. Take all the Gipsies that 
ever came out of the tent, or their descendants, including 
those brought into the body througli the male and female 
line ; and what are they now ? Still Gipsies. They even 
pass into the other world Gipsies. " But they will forget 
that they are Gipsies," say, perhaps, some of my readers. 
Forget that they are Gipsies ! Will we hear, some of these 
days, that Scotch people, themselves, will get up of a morn- 
ing, toss about their night-caps, and forget that they are 
Scotch ? We may then see the same happen with the Gip- 
sies. What I have said, of the Gipsy always being a Gipsy, 
is self-evident ; but it has a wide difference of meaning 
from that contained in the quotation given by Mr. Borrow, 
in which it is said : " For that which is unclean by nature 
thou canst entertain no hope ; no washing will turn the 
Gipsy white."^ But, taking the world all over, there will 
doubtless be Gipsies, in larger or smaller numbers, who will 
always be found following the original ways of their race. 
What were the Hungarians, at one time, and what are 
they now ? Pritchard says of them : " The Hungarians 

* In expatiating on the subject of the Gipsy race always being- the Gipsy 
race, I have had it remarked to me : " Suppose Gipsies should not mention 
to their children the fact of their being Gipsies," In that case, I replied, 
the children, especially if, for the most jDart, of white blood, would simply 
not be Gipsies ; thej' would, of course, have some of " the blood," but they 
would not be Gipsies if they had no knowledge of the fact. But to sup- 
pose that Gipsies should not learn that they are Gipsies, on account of 
their parents not telling them of it, is to presume that they had no other 
relatives. Their being Gipsies is constantly talked of among themselves ; 
BO that, if Gipsy children should not hear their " wonderful story" from 
their parents, they would readily enough hear it from their other relatives. 
This is assuming, however, that the Gipsy mind can act otherwise than the 
Gipsy mind ; which it cannot. 

It sometimes liappens, as the Gipsies separate into classes, like all other 
races or communities of men, that a great deal of jealousy is stirred up in 
the minds of the poorer members of the tribe, on account of their being 
shunned by the wealthier kind. They are then apt to say that the exclu- 
sive members have left the tribe; which, with them, is an undefined and 
confused idea, at the best, principally on account of their limited powers of 
reflection, and the subject never being alluded to by the others, Tliis 
jealousy sometimes leads them to dog these strnggling sh<'e[), so that, as far 
as lies in their power, they will not allow them to leave, as they imagine, 
the Gi2)sy fold. [See second note at page 532 J 



414 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

laid aside tlie habits of rude and savage hunters, far below 
the condition of the nomadic hordes, for the manners of 
civilized life. In the course of a thousand years, they have 
become a handsome people, of fine stature, regular European 
features, and have the complexion prevalent in that tract of 
Europe where they dwell." Now the Gipsies have been in 
Scotland at least three hundred and fifty years ; and what 
with the mixture of native blood, (which, at least, helped to 
remove the prejudice against the man's appearance, and, con- 
sequently, gave him a larger and freer scope of action ;) the 
hard laws of necessity, and the being tossed about by society, 
like pebbles on the seashore ; the influences of civilization, 
education, and the grace of God itself ; by such means as 
these, some of the Scottish Gipsies have risen to a respect- 
able, even eminent, position in life. But some people may 
say : " These are not Gipsies ; they have little of the blood 
in them." That is nothing. Ask themselves what they are, 
and, if they are at all candid, they will reply that they are 
Gipsies. " No doubt," they say, " we have fair, or red, or 
black, hair, (as the case may be ;) we know nothing about 
that ; but we know that we are Gipsies ; that is all." There 
is as much difference between such a high-class Gipsy and a 
poor Gipsian, as there is between a Scottish judge and the 
judge's fourth cousin, who makes his living by clipping dogs^ 
ears. The principle of progression, the passing through one 
phase of history into another, while the race maintains its 
identity, holds good with the Gipsies, as well as with any 
other people. 

Take a Gipsy in his original state, and we can find noth- 
ing really vulgar about him. What is popularly understood 
to be Gipsy life may be considered low life, by people who 
do not overmuch discriminate in such matters ; but view it 
after its kind, and it is not really low ; for a Gipsy is natu- 
rally polite and well mannered. He does not consider him- 
self as belonging to the same race as the native, and would 
rather be judged by a different standard. The life which 
he leads is not that of the lowest class of tlie country in 
which he dwells, but the primitive, original state of a peo- 
ple of great antiquity, proscribed by law and society ; him- 
self an enemy of, and an enemy to, all around him ; with the 
population so prejudiced against him, that attempts to change 
his condition, consistently with his feelings as a man, are 



DISQUISITIOir ON THE GIPSIES. 415 

frequently rendered in vain : so that, on the ground of 
strict morals, or even administrative justice, the man can be 
said to be only half responsible. The subject, however, 
assumes quite a different aspect, when we consider a Gipsy 
of education and refinement, like the worthy clergyman 
mentioned, between whose condition and that of his tented 
ancestor an interval of, perhaps, two or three centuries has 
elapsed. We should then put him on the footing of any 
other race having a barbarous origin, and entertain no preju- 
dice against him on account of the race to wliich he be- 
longs. He is then to be judged as we judge Highland and 
Border Scots, for the whole three were at one time robbers ; 
and all the three having welled up to respectable life to- 
gether, they ought to be judged on their merits, individually, 
as men, and treated accordingly. And the Gipsy ought to 
be the most leniently dealt with, on the principle that the 
actions of his ancestors were far more excusable, and even 
less heinous, than those of the others. And as regards an- 
tiquity of descent, tlie Gipsy's infinitely surpasses the others, 
being probably no less than the shepherd kings, part of 
whose blood left Egypt, in the train of the Jews. I would 
place such a Gipsy on the footing of the Hungarian race ; 
with this difference, that the Hungarians entered Europe in 
the ninth century, and became a people, occupying a terri- 
tory ; while the Gipsies appeared in the fifteenth century, 
and are now to be found, civilized and uncivilized, in almost 
every corner of the known world. 

The admission of the good man alluded to casts a flood 
of light upon the history of the Scottish Gipsy race, 
shrouded as it is from the eye of the general population ; 
but the information given by him was apt to fall flat upon 
the ear of the ordinary native, unless it was accompanied by 
some such exposition of the subject as is given in this work. 
Still, we can gather from it, where Gipsies are to be found, 
what a Scottish Gipsy is, and what the race is capable of ; 
and what might be expected of it, if the prejudice of tlieir 
fellow-creatures was witlidrawn from the race, as distin- 
guished from the various classes into which it may be divided, 
or, I should rather say, the personal conduct of eacli Gipsy 
individually. View the subject any way I may, 1 cannot 
resist coming to the conclusion that, under more favour- 
able circumstances, it is difficult to say what the Gipsies 



416 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

might not attain to. But that would depend greatly upon 
the country in which they are to be found. Scotland tia3 
been peculiarly favourable for them, in some respects. 

As regards the Scottish Gipsy population, at the present 
day, I can only adopt the language of the immortal Dominie 
Sampson, and say, that it must be " prodigious." If we con- 
sider the number that appear to haye settled in Scotland, 
the length of time they have been in Scotland, the great 
amount of white blood that has, by one means or other, been 
brought into, and mixed up with, the body, and its great 
natural increase ; the feelings that attach them to their de- 
scent — feelings that originate, more properly, within them- 
selves, and feelings that press upon them from without — the 
various occupations and positions in life in which they are 
to be found ; we cannot set any limit to their number. 
Gipsies are just like other people ; they have their own sets 
or circles of associates, out of which, as a thing that is 
almost invariable, they will hide, if not deny, themselves to 
others of their race, for reasons which liave already been 
given. So almost invariable is this, at the present day, 
amongst Gipsies that are not tented Gipsies, that, should an 
English Gipsy come across a settlement of them in America 
— German Gipsies, for example — and cast his sign, and ad- 
dress them in their own speech, they will pretend not to 
know what he means, although he sees the Gipsy in their 
faces and about their dwellings. But should he meet witli 
them away from their homes, and where they are not known, 
they would answer, and be cheek-by-jowl with him, in a mo- 
ment. I have found, by personal experience, that the same 
holds with the French and other continental Gipsies in 
America.* It is particularly so with the Scottish Gipsies. 

* I very abruptly addressed a French Gipsy, in the streets of New York, 
thus : " Vous etes un Romany chiel." " Oui, monsieur," was the reply 
which he, as abruptly, gave me. But, erer afterwards, he got cross, when 
I alluded to the subject. On one occasion, I gave him the sign, which he 
repeated, while he asked, with much tartness of manner, " What is that — 
what does it mean ?" This was a roguish Gipsy, who was afterwards lodged 
in jail. 

On one occasion, I met with a German cutler, in a place of business, in 
New York. I felt sure he was a Gipsy, although the world would not have 
taken him for one. Catching his eye, I commenced to look around the room, 
from those present to himself, as if there was to be something confidential 
between us, and then whispered to him, " Callo chabo," (Gipsy, or black fel- 
low ;) and the effect was instantaneous. I afterwards visited his family, on 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 417 

For these reasons, it seems to be beyond question that the 
number at which our autlior estimates them in Scotland, viz., 
5,000, must be vastly below the real number. If I were to 
say 100,000, I do not think I would over-estimate them. 
The opinion of the Gipsies whom our author questioned 
was a guess, so far as it referred to the class to whicli they 
belonged, or with wliich they were acquainted ; so that, if 
we take all kinds of Gipsies into account, it would be a very 
moderate estimate to set the Scottish Gipsies down at 
100,000 ] and those in all the British Isles at 300,000. The 
number might be double what I have stated. The intelli- 
gent English Gipsies say that, in England, they are not only 
" dreadfully mixed," but extremely numerous. There is not 
a race of men on the face of the earth more prolific than 
tented Gipsies ; in a word, tented Gipsydom, if I may hazard 
such an expression, is, comparatively speaking, like a rabbit 
warren. The rough and uncouth kind of settled Gipsies are 
likewise very prolific ; but the higher classes, as a rule, are 
by no means so much so. To set down any specific number 
of Gipsies to be found in the British Isles, would be a thing 
too arbitrary to serve any purpose ; I think sufficient data 
have been given to enable the intelligent reader to form an 
opinion for himself.* 

a Sabbath evening, and took tea with them. They were from Wurtemberg, 
and appeared very decent people. The mother, a tall, swarthy, fine look- 
ing intelligent young woman, said grace, which was repeated by the chil- 
dren, whom 1 found learning their Sabbath school lessons. The family 
regularljf attend church. A fair-haired German called, and went to church 
with the Gipsy himself. What with the appearance of everything about 
the house, and the fine, clean, and neatly-dressed family of children, I felt 
very much pleased with my visit. 

French and German Gipsies are very shy, owing to the severity of the 
laws against their race. 

* Fletcher, of Saltoun, speaks of there being constantly a hundred thou- 
sand people in Scotland, leading the life (as Sir Walter Scott describes it,) 
of " Gipsies, Jockies, or Cairds." Between the time alluded to and the date 
of John FaVs league with James V., a period of 140 years had elapsed ; 
and 174 years from the date of arrival of the race in the country: so that, 
from the natural increase of the body, and the large amount of white blood 
introduced into it, the greater part, if not the whole, of the people men- 
tioned, were doubtless Gipsies. But these Gipsies, according to Sir Wal- 
ter's opinion, " died out by a change of habits." How strange it is that 
the very first class Scottish minds should have so little understood the 
philosophy of origin, blood, and descent, and especially as they applied to 
the Gipsies! For Sir Walter says: "The progress of time, and increaso 
both of the means of life and the ])owor of the laws, gradually reduced 
this dreadful evil within more narrow bounds Their numbers aro 

18* 



418 DI8qUI8ITI0N ON THE GIPSIES. 

That many Gipsies were banished to America, in colonial 
times, from England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, some- 
times for merely being "by habit and repute Gipsies," is 
beyond dispute. " Your Welsh and Irish," said an English 
Gipsy, in the United States, ^' were so mean, when they 
banished a Gipsy to the Plantations, as to make him find 
his own passage ; but the English always paid the Gipsy's 
passage for him." The Scotch seem also to have made the 
Gipsy find his own passage, and failing that, to have hanged 
him. It greatly interests the English Gipsies arriving in 
America, to know about the native American Gipsies. I 
have been frequently in the company of an English Gipsy, 
in America, whose great-grandfather was so banished ; but 
he did not relish the subject being spoken of. Gipsies may 
be said to have been in America almost from the time of its 
settlement. We have already seen how many of them found 
their way there, during the Revolution, by being impressed 
as soldiers, and taken as volunteers, for the benefit of the 

so greatly diminished, that, instead of one hundred thousand, as calculated 
by Fletcher, it would now, perhaps, be impossible to collect above five hun- 
dred throughout all Scotland (!)" It is perfectly evident that Sir Walter 
Scott, in common with many others, never realized the idea, in all its bear- 
ings, of what a Gipsy was ; or he never could have imagined that those, 
only, were of the Gipsy race, who followed the tent. 

It is very doubtful if Anthonius Gawino, and his tribe, departed with 
their letter of introduction from James IV. to his uncle, the king of Den- 
mark, in 1506. Having secured the favour of the king of Scots, by this 
recommendatory notice, he was more apt, by delaying his departure, to se- 
cure his position in the country. The circumstances attending the league 
with his successor, John Faw, show that the tribe had been long in the 
country; doubtless from as far back as 1506. From 1506 till 1579, with 
the exception of about one year, during the reign of James V., the tribe, as 
I have already said, (page 109,) must have increased prodigiously. The 
persecutions against the body extended over the reign of James VI., and 
part of that of Charles I. ; for, according to Baron Hume, such was the 
terror which the executions inspired in the tribe, that, " for the space of more 
than 50 years from that time, (1624,) there is no trial of an Egyptian;" 
although our author shows that an execution of a band of them took place 
in 1636. But "towards the end of that century," continues Baron Hume, 
" the nuisance seems to have again become troublesome ;"' in other words, 
that from the reign of Charles I. to the accession of William and Mary, 
the time to which Fletcher's remark applies, the attention of all being taken 
up with the troubles of the times, the Gipsies had things pretty much their 
own way ; but when peace was restored, they would be called to strict 
account. 

For all these reasons, it may be said that the 100,000 people spoken of 
were doubtless Gipsies of various mixtures of blood ; so that, at the pres- 
ent day, there ough< to be a verj- large number of the tribe in Scotland. 1 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 419 

bounty and passage ; and liow they deserted on landing. 
Tented Gipsies have been seen about Baltimore for the last 
seventy years. In New England, a colony is known which 
has existed for about a hundred years, and has always been 
looked upon with a singular feeling of distrust and mystery 
by the inhabitants, who are the descendants of the early 
emigrants, and who did not suspect their origin till lately. 
These Gipsies have never associated, in the common sense 
of the word, with the other settlers, and, judging from their 
exterior, seem poor and miserable, whatever their circum- 
stances may be. They follow pretty much the employment 
and modes of life of the same class in Europe ; the most 
striking feature being, that the bulk of them leave the home- 
stead for a length of time, scatter in different directions, 
and reunite, periodically, at their quarters, which are left 
in charge of some of the feeble members of the band. 

It is not likely that many of the colonial Gipsies would 
take to the tent ; for, arriving, for the most part, as individ- 
uals, separated from family relations, they were more apt 
to follow settled, semi-settled, or general itinerant occupa- 
tions ; and the more so, as the face of the country, and the 
thin and scattered settlements, would hardly admit of it. 
They were apt to squat on wild or unoccupied lands, in the 
neighbourhood of towns and settlements, like their brethren 
in Europe, when they took up their quarters on the borders 
of well-settled districts, with a wild country to fall back on, 
in times of danger or prosecution by the lawful authori- 
ties. Besides disposing of themselves, to some little extent, 
in this way, many of the Gipsies, banished, or going to the 
colonies of their own accord, would betake themselves to the 
various occupations common to the ordinary emigrants ; the 
more especially as, when they arrived, they would find a field 

admit that many of the Scottish Gipsies have been hanged, and many ban- 
ished to the Plantations ; but these would be in a small ratio to their num- 
ber, and a still smaller to the natural increase of the body. Suppose that 
Buch and such Gipsies were either lianged or banished ; so young did they 
all marry, that, when ihoy were hanged or l)anishcd, they might leave be- 
hind them families ranging from five to ten childi-en. We may say, of the 
Scottish Gipsies generally, in days that aro past, what a writer in Black- 
wood's Magazine, already alluded to, said of liilly Marshall; "Their de- 
BCcndants were prodigiously numerous ; 1 dare say, numberless." Maiiy 
of the Scottish! Gipsies have migrated to England, as well as elsewlu'i e. 
In Liverpool, there are many of them, following various mechanical occu- 
patious. 



420 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

in which they were not known to be Gipsies ; which would 
give them greater scope and confidence, and enable them to 
go anywhere, or enter upon any employment, where, not 
being known to be Gipsies, they would meet with no preju- 
dice to contend with. Indeed, a new country, in wliich the 
people had, more or less, to be, in a sense, tinkers, that is, 
jacks-of-all-trades, and masters of none, was just the sphere 
of a handy Gipsy, who could " do a' most of things." They 
would turn to the tinkering, peddling, horse-dealing, tavern- 
keeping, and almost all the ordinary mechanical trades, and, 
among others, broom-making. Perhaps the foundation of 
the American broom manufacture was laid by the British 
Gipsies, by whom it may be partly carried on at the present 
day ; a business they pretty much monopolize, in a rough 
way, in Great Britain. We will doubtless find, among the 
fraternity, some of those whittling, meddling Sam Slick ped- 
dlers, so often described : I have seen some of those itiner- 
ant venders of knife-sharpeners, and such *' Yankee notions," 
with dark, glistening eyes, that would " pass for the article." 
Some of them would live by less legitimate business. I en- 
tertain no doubt, what from the general fitness of things, 
and the appearance of some of the men, that we will find 
some of the descendants of the old British mixed Gipsies 
members of the various establishments of Messrs. Peter 
Funks and Company,"^ of the city of New York, as well as 
elsewhere. And I entertain as little doubt that many of 
those American women who tell fortunes, and engage in 
those many curious bits of business that so often come up 
at trials, are descendants of the British plantation stock of 
Gipsies. But there are doubtless many of these Gipsies in 
respectable spheres of life. It would be extremely unrea- 
sonable to say that the descendants of the colonial Gipsies 
do not still exist as Gipsies, like their brethren in Great 
Britain, and other parts of the Old World. The English 
Gipsies in America entertain no doubt of it ; the more es- 
pecially as they have encountered such Gipsies, of at least 
two descents. I have myself met with such a Gipsy, follow- 
ing a decidedly respectable calling, whom I found as much 
one of the tribe, barring the original habits, as perhaps any 
one in f]urope. 

There are many Hungarian and German Gipsies in Amer- 

* Peter Funks d; Co.: Mock auctioneers of mock jewelry, (fec.,<S;c. 



DISQUISITION ON TEE GIPSIES. 421 

ica ; some of them long settled in Pennsylvania and Mary- 
land, wliere tliey own farms. Some of them leave their 
farms in charge of hired hands, during the summer, and pro- 
ceed South with their tents. In the State of Pennsylvania, 

there is a settlement of them, on the J river, a little 

way above H , wliere they have saw-mills. About the 

Alleghany Mountains, there are many of the tribe, following 
somewhat the original ways of the race. In the United 
States generally, there are many Gipsy peddlers, British as 
well as continental. There are a good many Gipsies in 
New York — English, Irish, and continental — some of whom 
keep tin, crockery, and basket stores ; but these are all 
mixed Gipsies, and many of them of fair complexion. The 
tin-ware which they make is generally of a plain, coarse 
kind ; so much so, that a Gipsy tin store is easily known. 
They frequently exhibit their tin-ware and baskets on the 
streets, and carry them about the city. Almost all, if not 
all, of those itinerant cutlers and tinkers, to be met with in 
New York, and other American cities, are Gipsies, princi- 
pally German, Hungarian, and French. There are a good 
many Gipsy musicians in America. " What !" said I, to an 
English Gipsy, " those organ-grinders?" " Nothing so low as 
that. Gipsies don't grind their music, sir ; they make it." 
But I found in his house, when occupied by other Gipsies, a 
liurdy-guTihj and tambourine ; so that Gipsies sometimes 
grind music, as well as make it. I know of a Hungarian 
Gipsy who is leader of a Negro musical band, in the city of 
New York ; his brother drives one of the Avenue cars. 
There are a number of Gipsy musicians in Baltimore, who 
play at parties, and on other occasions. Some of the for- 
tune-telling Gipsy women about New York will make as 
much as forty dollars a week in that line of business. Tliey 
generally live a little way out of the city, into which they 
ride, in the morning, to their places of business. I know of 
one, who resides in New Jersey, opposite New York, and 
who has a place in the city, to which ladies, that is, females 
of the highest classes, address their cards, for her to call 
upon them. When she gets a chance of a young fellow with 
his female friend, she " i)uts the screws on ;" for she knows 
well that he dare not " back out ;" so she frequently man- 
ages to squeeze five dollars out of him. 

Many hundred, perhaps several thousand, of English 



422 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

tented, and partly tented Gipsies, have arrived in America 
within the last ten years. They, for the most part, travel, 
and have travelled every State in the Union, east of the 
Rocky Mountains, as well as the British Provinces, as horse- 
dealers, peddlers, doctors, exhibitors, fortune-tellers, and 
tramps generally. Such English Gipsies, above all men in 
America, may, with the greatest propriety, say, 

" No pent-up Utica contracts our powers, 
But the wliole boundless continent is ours." 

The fortune-tellers, every time they set out on their peregri- 
nations, choose a new route ; for they say it is more difficult 
to go over the same ground in America, than it is in Eng- 
land. The horse-dealers say that Jonathan is a good judge 
of a horse ; that sometimes they get the advantage of him, 
and sometimes he of them ; but that his demand for a war- 
ranty sometimes bothers them a deal. " What then ?" I asked. 
*' Well, we give him a warranty ; and should the beast hap- 
pen to turn out wrong, let him catch us if he can !" It is 
really astonishing how sensibly these English Gipsies talk 
of American affairs generally ; they are very discriminating 
in their remarks, and wonderfully observant of places and 
localities. They do not like the Negroes. In their so- 
ciety they drop the name of king, and adopt that of presi- 
dent. " Cunning fellows,'^ said I, " to eschew the name of 
king, and look down upon Negroes. That will do, in 
America !" 

I have found the above kind of Gipsies, in America, to be 
generally pretty well off; they all seem to flourish, and 
have plenty of money about them. The fortune- telling, horse- 
dealing, and peddling branches of them have a fine field for 
following their respective businesses. America, indeed, is a 
" great country" for the Gipsies ; for it contains " no end" 
of chickens, to say nothing of ducks, geese, and turkeys, 
many of which are carried off by varmint^ anyhow. Tliere, 
they will find, for some time, many opportunities of gather- 
ing rich harvests, among what has been termed the shrewd- 
est, but, in some things, the most gullible, of mortals, as an 
instance may illustrate. A Gipsy woman, known as such, 
drags, into the meshes of her necromancy, 'cute Jonathan ; 
who, with an infinite reliance on his own smartness, to " try 
the skill of the critter," by her directions, ties up, in gold 



DISQUISITTON ON THE GIPSIES. 423 

and paper, something like a thousand dollars, and, after she 
has passed her hands over it, and muttered a fe\Y cabalistic 
words, deposits it in his strong box. She sets a day, on 
which she calls, handles the " dimes," while muttering some 
more expressions, ratlier accidentally drops them, then re- 
turns them to the box, and sets another day when she will 
call, and add much to his wealth. She does not appear, 
liowever, on the day mentioned. Our simpleton gets first 
anxious, then excited, then suspicious, then examines his 
" pile," and finds it transformed into a lot of copper and old 
paper I For, in dropping the parcel, Meg does it adroitly 
about the folds of her dress, quickly substitutes another, ex- 
actly alike, and makes off with the fruits of her labour. 
Then come the hue and cry, telegraphing, and dispatching 
of warrants everywhere. But why need he trouble himself? 
So, after a harder day's work than, perhaps, he ever under- 
went in his life, he returns home : but knowing the sym- 
pathy he will find there, he puts on his best face, and, to 
have the first word of it, (for he is not to be laughed at,) 
wipes his forehead, twitches his mouth, winks his eyes, and 
remarks : " Waal, I reckon I've been most darnedly sold, any- 
how !" Such occurrences are very common among almost 
all classes of rural Americans. Sometimes it is to discover 
treasure on the individual's lands, or in the neighbourhood ; 
sometimes a mine, and sometimes an Indian, a trapper, a 
pirate, or a revolutionary deposit. When the Gipsy es- 
capes with her spoil, she frequently makes for her home, but 
where that is, no one knows. On being molested, while thei'e, 
she produces fi*iends, in fair standing, who prove an alibi ; 
and, with the further assistance of a well-feed lawyer, de- 
fies all the requisitions, made by the governors of neighbour- 
ing States, for her delivery. At other times, she will divide 
with the inferior authorities, or surrender the whole of the 
plunder ; for, to go to jail she will not, if she can help it."^ 

* If the real characters of those " lady fortune tellers," who flourish so 
much in the large cities, and publicly profess to reveal all matters in " love 
and law, health and wealth, losses and crosses," were to be ascertained, 
many of them would, in all probability, be found to belong to a superior 
class of Gipsies. And this may much more be said of the more luimblo 
ones, who trust to the gossipping of a class — and that a resj)ectable class of 
females, for the advertising of tlieir calling. For a cortaiuty, those are 
Gipsies who stroll about, telling fortunes for ditnes, clothes, or old bottles. 
The advertising members form a very small part of the fraternity. The 



424 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

In Virginia, the more original kind of Gipsies are very 
frequently to be met with. It is in the Slave States they 
are more apt to flourish in the olden form. The planters 
need not trouble themselves about their tampering vrith the 
Negroes, for they have no sympathy with them. Were it 
otherwise, they would soon be mum, on finding what the re- 
sults would be to them. I have given some of them some 
useful hints on that score. The general disposition of the 
people, the want of learning among so many of them, the dis- 
tances between dwellings, the small villages, the handy me- 
chanical services of the Gipsies, the uncultivated tracts of 
land, the game of various kinds, and the climate, seem to 
point out some of the Slave States as an elysium for the Gip- 
sies ; unless the wealthier part of the inhabitants should use 
the poorer class as tools to drive them out of the coun- 
try.* 

There arc a good many very respectable Scottish Gipsies 
in the United States ; but I do not wish to be too minute in 
describing them. In Canada, I know of a doctor, a lawyer, 
and an editor, Scottish Gipsies. The fact of the matter is, 
that, owing to the mixture of the blood, tlie improvement, 
and perpetuation, and secrecy, of the race, there may be 
many, very many, Gipsies, in almost every place in tlie 
world, and other people not know of it : and it is not 

extent to which such business is patronized, by Americans, of both sexes, 
and of ahnost all positions in society is such, that it is doubtful if the 
English reader would credit it, if it were put on record. 

* When travelling on the stage, towards Lake Huron, in Canada, I was 
surprised at finding a Gipsy tent on the road-side, with a man sitting in 
front of it, engaged in the mj^steries of the tinker. I met a camp of Gip- 
sies on a vacant space, beside a clump of trees, in Hamilton, at the head of 
Lake Ontario, but I deferred visiting them till the following morning. 
When I returned to the spot, I found that the birds had flown. Feeling 
disappointed, I began to question a man who kept a toll-bar, immediately 
opposite to where their tents had been, as to their peculiarities generally; 
when he said : " They seemed droll kind o' folk — quite like ourselves — no 
way foreign ; yet I could not understand a word they were saying among 
themselves." Shortly after this, a company of them entered a shop, in the 
same town, to buy tin, when I happened to be in it. I accosted one of the 
mothers of the company, in an abrupt but bland tone. " You're a' Naw- 
kens (Gipsies) I see." — " Ou ay, we're Nawkens," was her immediate reply, 
accompanied by a smile on her weather-beaten countenance. " You'll aye 
speak the language?" I continued. " Well ne'er forget that," she again re- 
plied. This seemed to be a company of Gipsies from the Scottish Border; 
for the woman spoke about the broadest Scotch I ever heard. The}' dressed 
well, and bore a good reputation in the neighbourhood. 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 42^ 

likely that, at the present time, they will say that tliey are 
Gipsies. Indeed, the intelligent English travelling Gipsies 
say that there are an immense number of Gipsies, of all coun- 
tries, colours, and occupations, in America. 

There is even some resemblance between tlie formation of 
Gipsydom and that of the United States. The children of 
emigrants, it is well known, frequently prove the most ultra 
Americans. Instead of the original colonists, at the Decla- 
ration of Independence, imagine the commencement of Gip- 
sydom as proceeding from the original stock of Gipsies. 
The addition to their number, from without, differs from 
that which takes place among Americans, in this way : that 
all such additions to Gipsydom are made in such a manner, 
that the new blood gets innoculated, as it were, with the 
old, or part of the old ; so that it may be said of the whole 
body, 

One drop of blood makes all Gipsydom mkin. 

The simple fact of a person having Gipsy blood in his veins, 
in addition to the rearing of a Gipsy parent, acts upon him 
like a shock of electricity ; it makes him spring to his feet, 
and — " snap his teeth at other dogs !" A very important 
circumstance contributing to this state of things is the an- 
tipathy which mankind have for the very name of Gipsy, 
which, as I have already said, they all take to themselves ; 
insomuch that the better class will not face it. They imagine 
that, socially speaking, they are among the damned, and they 
naturally cast their lot with the damned. Still, the antag- 
onistic spirit which would naturally arise towards society, 
in the minds of such Gipsies, remains, in a measure, latent ; 
for they feel confident in their incognito, while moving 
among their fellow-creatures ; which circumstance robs it of 
its sting. 

Let a Lowlander, in times tliat are past, but have cast up 
a Highlander's blood to him, and what would have been the 
consequences ? " Her ainsel would have drawn her dirk, or 
whipped out her toasting-iron, and seen which ivas the pret- 
tiest man." Let the same have been done to a Scottish 
Gipsy, in comparatively recent times, and he wouhl have 
taken his own peculiar revenge. See liow the Baillics, as 
mentioned under the chapter of Tweed-dale and Clydesdale 
Gipsies, mounted on horseback, and with drawn swords in 



426 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

their hands, threatened death to all who opposed them, foi 
an afiTront offered to their mother. Twit a respectable 
Gipsy with his blood, at the present day, and he would suf- 
fer in silence ; for, by getting into a passion, he would let 
himself out. For this reason, it would be unmanly to hint 
it to him, in any tone of disparagement. The difference of 
feeling between the two races, at the present day, proceeds 
from positive ignorance on the part of the native towards 
the other ; an ignorance in which the Gipsy would rather 
allow him to remain ; for, let him turn himself in whatever 
direction he may, he imagines he sees, and perhaps does see, 
nothing but a dark mountain of prejudice existing between 
him and every other of his fellow-creatures. He would 
rather retain his incognito, and allow his race to go down 
to posterity shrouded in its present mystery. The history 
of the Gipsy race in Scotland, more, perhaps, than in any 
other country, shows, to the eye of the world, as few traces 
of its existence as would a fox, in passing over a ploughed 
field. The farmer might see the foot-prints of reynard, but 
how is he to find reynard himself ? He must bring out the 
dogs and have a hunt for him. As an Indian of the prairie, 
while on the " war path," cunningly arranges the long grass 
into its natural position, as he passes through it, to prevent 
his enemy following him, so has the Scottish Gipsy, as he 
entered upon a settled life, destroyed, to the eye of the or- 
dinary native, every trace of his being a Gipsy. Still, I 
cannot doubt but tliat he has misgivings that, some day, he 
will be called up to judgment, and that all about him will 
be exposed to the world. 

What is it that troubles the educated Gipsies ? Nothing 
but the word Gipsy ; a word which, however sweet when 
used among themselves, conveys an ugly, blackguard, and 
vagabond meaning to other people. The poet asks. What is 
there in a name ? and I reply. Everything, as regards the name 
Gipsy. For a respectable Scottish Gipsy to say to the public, 
that " his mother is a Gipsy," or, that" his wife is a Gipsy," or, 
that '* he is a Gipsy;" such a Gipsy simply could not do it. 
Tlvese Gipsies will hardly ever use the word among themselves, 
except in very select circles ; but they will say "He's one of 
us ;" " he's from Yetholm ;" " he's from the metropolis," 
(Yetholm being the metropolis of Scottish Gipsy dom;) or, " he's 
a traveller." li the company is not over classical, they will 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 427 

say "He's from the black quarry," or, " he's been with the cud- 
dies." Imagine a select party of educated Scottish Gipsies, 
all closely related. They will then chatter Gipsy over their 
tea ; but if a person should drop in, one of the party, who is 
not acquainted with him, will nudge and whisper to another, 
" Is he one of the tribe ?" or, " Is he one of us ?" The better 
class of Scottish Gipsies are very exclusive in matters of 
this kind. 

All things considered, in what other position could the 
Gipsy race, in Scotland especially^ be at the present day 
than that described ? How can we imagine a race of peo- 
ple to act otherwise than hide themselves, if they could, from 
the odium that attaches to the name of Gipsy ? And what 
estimate should we place on that charity which would lead 
a person to denounce a Gipsy, should he deny himself to be 
a Gipsy ?* As a race, what can they offer to society at 
large to receive them within its circle ? They can offer lit- 
tle, as a race ; but, if we consider them as individuals, we 
will find many of them whose education, character, and po- 
sition in life, would warrant their admission into any ordi- 
nary society, and some of them into any society. Notwith- 
standing all that, none will answer up to the name of Gipsy. 
It necessarily follows, that the race must remain shrouded 
in its present mystery, unless some one, not of the race, 
should become acquainted with its history, and speak for 
it.^ In Scotland, the prejudice towards the name of Gipsy 
might be safely allowed to drop, were it only for this reason : 
that the race has got so much mixed up with the native 
blood, and even with good families of the country, as to 
be, in plain language, a jumble — a pretty kettle of fish, in- 
deed. One's uncle, in seeking for a wife, might have 
stumbled over an Egyptian woman, and, either known or 
unknown to himself, had his children brought up bitter 
Gipsies ; so that one's cousins may be Gipsies, for any- 
thing one knows. A man may have a colony of Gipsies in 
his own house, and know nothing about it! The Gipsies 
died out? Oh, no. They commenced in Scotland by wring- 
ing the necks of one's chickens^ and now they sometimes 

* Mixed Gipsies tell no lies, when they say that they are not Gipsies; 
for, physiologically speakinj^, they are not (iipsies, but only partly Gipsies, 
as regards blood. In every other way ihcy are G ipsies, that is, chabon, 
calos, or chals. 



428 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

! But what is Gipsy dom, after all, but a 

" working in among other people ?" 

In seeking for Gipsies among Scotch people, I know where 
to begin, but it puzzles me where to leave off. I would pay 
no regard to colour of hair or eyes, character, employment, 
position, or, indeed, any outward thing. The reader may say : 
" It must be a difficult matter to detect such mixed and edu- 
cated Gipsies as those spoken of." It is not only difficult, 
but outwardly impossible. Such Gipsies cannot even tell 
each other, from their personal appearance ; but they have 
signs, which they can use, if the otliers choose to respond to 
them. If I go into a company which I have reason to be- 
lieve is a Gipsy one, and it know nothing of me, so far as 
my pursuit is concerned, I will bring the subject of the Gip- 
sies up, in a very roundabout way, and mark the effect which 
the conversation makes, or the turn it takes. What I know 
of the subject, and of the ignorance of mankind generally in 
regard to it, enables me to say, in almost eveiy instance, 
who they are, let them make any remark tliey like, look as 
they like, pretend what they like, wriggle about as they like, 
or keep dead silent. As I gradually glide into the subject, 
and expatiate upon the " greatness of the society," one re- 
marks, " I know it ;" upon the " respectability of some of its 
members," and another emphatically exclaim?, " That's a 
fact;" and upon *'its universality," and another bawls out, 
''That's so." Indeed, by finding the Gipsies, under such 
circumstances, completely off their guard, (for they do not 
doubt their secret being confined to themselves,) I can gen- 
erally draw forth, in one way or other, as much moral cer- 
tainty, barring their direct admission, as to their being Gip- 
sies, as a dog, by putting his nose into a hole, can tell 
whether a rat is there, or not. 

The principle of the transmutation of Gipsy blood into 
white, in appearance, is illustrated, in the ninth chapter of Mr. 
Borrow's " Bible in Spain," by its changing into almost pure 
black. A Gipsy soldier, in tlie Spanish army, killed his 
sergeant, for " calling him calo, (Gipsy,) and cursing him," and 
made his escape. His wife remained in the army, as a sut- 
ler, selling wine. Two years thereafter, a strange man came 
to lier wine shop. " He was dressed like a Moor, {corahano^ 
and yet he did not look like one ; he looked more like a 
black, and yet he was not a black, either, though he was 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 429 

almost black. And, as I looked upon him, I thought he 
looked something like the EiTate, (Gipsies,) and he said to 
me, 'Zincali, chachipej' (the Gipsy salutation.) And then 
he whispered to me, in queer language, which I could scarcely 
understand, ' Your husband is waiting ; come with me, my 
little sister, and I will take you to him.^ About a league 
from the town, beneath a hill, we found four people, men 
and women, all very black, like the strange man ; and we 
joined ourselves with them, and they all saluted me, and 
called me * little sister.' And away we marched, for many 
days, amidst deserts and small villages. The men would 
cheat with mules and asses, and the women told baji. I 
often asked him (her husband) about the black men, and he 
told me that he believed them to be of the Errate." Her 
husband, then a soldier in the Moorish army, having been 
killed, this Gipsy woman married the black man, with whom 
she followed real Gipsy life. She said to him : " Sure I am 
amongst the Errate ; . . . . and I often said tliat they 
were of the Errate ; and then they would laugh, and say 
that it might be so, and that they were not Moors, {corahai,) 
but they could give no account of themselves." From this 
it would seem that, while preserving their identity, wherever 
they go, there are Gipsies who may not be known to the 
world, or to the tribe, in other continents, by the same 
name."^ 

* The people above-mentioned are doubtless Gipsies. According to Grell- 
mann, the race is even to be found in the centre of Africa. Mollien, in his 
travels to the sources of the Senec^al and Gambia, in 1818, says: "Scat- 
tered among the Joloffs, we find a people not unlike our Gipsies, and known 
by the name of Laaubes. Leading a roving life, and without fixed habita- 
tion, their only employment is tlie manufacture of wooden vessels, mortars, 
and bedsteads. They choose a well-wooded spot, fell some trees, form huts 
with the branches, and work up the trunks. For this privilege, they must 
pay a sort of tax to the prince in whose states they thus settle. In general, 
they are both ugly and slovenly. 

" The women, notwithstanding their almost frightful faces, are covered 
with amber and coral beads, presents heaped on them by the Joloffs, from 
a notion that the favours, alone, of these women will be followed by those of 
fortune. Ugly or handsome, all the young Laaube females are in request 
among the Negroes. 

" The Laaubes have nothing of their own but their money, their tools, 
and their asses ; the only animals on which they travel. In the woods, 
they make fires with the dung of the flocks. Ranged round the fires, the 
men and women pass their leisure time in smoking. The Laaubes have not 
those characteristic features and high stature which mark the Joloffs. and 
they seem to form a distinct race. They are exempted from all military 



430 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

A word upon the universality of the Gipsies. English 
Gipsies, on arriving in America, feel quite taken aback, on 
coming across a tent or wigwam of Indians. "Didn't you 
feel," said I to some of them, " very like a dog when ]ie 
comes across another dog, a stranger to him ?" And, with 
a laugh, they said, " Exactly so." After looking awhile at 
the Indians, they will approach them, and " cast their sign, 
and salute them in Gipsy ;" and if no response is made, they 
will pass on. They then come to learn who the Indians are. 
The same curiosity is excited among the Gipsies on meeting 
with the American farmer, on the banks of the Mississippi 
or Missouri ; who, in travelling to market, in the summer, 
will, to save expenses, unyoke his horses, at mid-day or eve- 
ning, at the edge of the forest, light his fire, and prepare his 
meal. What with the " kettle and tented wagon," the tall, 
lank, bony, and swarthy appearance of the farmer, the Gipsy 
will approach him, as he did the Indian ; and pass on, when 
no response is made to his sign and salutation. Under such 
circumstances, the Gipsy would cast his sign, and give his 
salutation, whether on the banks of the Mississippi or tlie 
Ganges. Nay, a very respectable Scottish Gipsy boasted to 
me, that, by his signs alone, he could push his way to the 
wall of China, and even through China itself. And there 
are doubtless Gipsies in China. Mr. Borrow says, that when 
he visited the tribe at Moscow, they supposed him to be one 
of their brothers, who, they said, were wandering about in 
Turkey, China, and other parts. It is very likely that Rus- 
sian Gipsies have visited China, by the route taken by 
Russian traders, and met with Gipsies there."^ But it tickles 
the Gipsy most, when it is insinuated, that if Sir John Frank- 
lin had been fortunate in his expedition, he would have 
found a Gipsy tinkering a kettle at the North Pole. 

The particulars of a meeting between English and Ameri- 

service. Each family has its chief, but, over all, there is a superior chief, 
who commauds a whole tribe or nation. He collects the tribute, and com- 
municates with such delegates of the king as receive the imposts : this 
serves to protect them from all vexation. The Laaubi^s are idolaters, speak 
the Poula language, and pretend to tell fortunes." 

* Bell, in an account of his journey to Pekin, [1721 .] says that upwards 
of sixty Gipsies had arrived at Tobolsky, on their way to China, but were 
stopped by the Vice-Governor, for want of passports. They had roamed, 
during the summer season, from Poland, in small parties, subsisting by 
selling trinkets, and telling fortunes. 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 431 

can Gipsies are interesting. Some English Gipsies were 
endeavouring to sell some horses, in Annapolis, in the State 
of Maryland, to what had the appearance of being respect- 
able American farmers ; who, however, spoke to each other 
in the Gipsy language, dropping a word now and then, such 
as " this is a good one," and so on. The English Gipsies 
felt amazed, and at last said : " What is that you are say- 
ing ? Why, you are Gipsies I" Upon this, the Americans 
wheeled about, and left the spot as fast as they could. Had 
the English Gipsies taken after the Gipsy in their appear- 
ance, tliey would not have caused such a consternation to 
their American brethren, who showed much of " the blood" 
in their countenances ; but as, from their blood being much 
mixed, they did not look like Gipsies, they gave the others a 
terrible fright, on their being found out. The English Gip- 
sies said they felt disgusted at the others not owning them- 
selves up. But I told them they ought rather to have felt 
proud of the Americans speaking Gipsy, as it was the preju- 
dice of the world tliat led them to hide their nationality. 
On making enquiry in the neighbourhood, they found that 
these American Gipsies had been settled there since, at 
least, the time of their grandfather, and that they bore an 
English name. 

There are Scottish Gipsies in the United States, following 
respectable callings, who speak excellent Gipsy, according 
to the judgment of intelligent English Gipsies. The Eng- 
lish Gipsies say the same of 'the Gipsy families in Scotland, 
with whom they are acquainted ; but that some of their 
words vary from those spoken in England. There is, how- 
ever, a rivalry between the English and Scottisli Gipsies, as 
to whose pronunciation of the words is the correct one : 
in that respect, they somewhat resemble the English and 
Scottish Latinists. One intelligent Gipsy gave it as his 
opinion, that the word great, haurie, in Scotland, was softer 
than horOj in England, and preferable, indeed, the riglit pro- 
nunciation of the word. The German Gipsies are said, by 
their English brethren, to speak Gipsy backwards ; from 
which I would conclude, that it follows the construction of 
the German language, wliicli differs so materially, in that 
respect, from the English.* It is a thing well-nigh im- 

* Mr. Borrow says, with reference to the Spanish Gipsy langiiat^e : " Its 
grammatical peculiarities have disappeared, the entire language haTing 



432 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

possible, to get a respectable Scottish Gipsy to own up to 
even a word of the Gipsy language. On meeting with a re- 
spectable — Scotchman, I will call him — in a comi)any, lately, 
I was asked by him : " Are ye a' Tinklers ?" " We're trav- 
ellers," I replied. "But who is he?" he continued, point- 
ing to my acquaintance. Going up to him, I whispered 
" His dade is a baurie grye-femkr,^^ (his father is a great 
horse-dealer ;) and he made for the door, as if a bee had 
got into his ear. But he came back ; oh, yes, he came 
back. There was a mysterious whispering of " pistols and 
coffee," at another time. 

It is beyond doubt that the Gipsy language in Great Brit- 
ain is broken, but not so broken as to consist of words only ; 
it consists, rather, of expressions, or pieces, which are tacked 
together by native words — generally small words — which 
are lost to the ordinary ear, when used in conversation. In 
that respect, the use of Gipsy may be compared to the revo- 
lutions of a wheel : we know that the wheel has spokes, but, 
in its velocity, we cannot distinguish the colour or material 
of each individual spoke ; it is only when it stands still that 
that can be done. In the same manner, when we come to 
examine into the British Gipsy language, we perceive its 
broken nature. But it still serves the purpose of a speech. 
Let any one sit among English Gipsies, in America, and 
hear them converse, and he cannot pick up au idea, and 
hardly a word which they say. " I have always tliought 
Dutch bad enough," said an Irishman, who has often heard 

been modified and subjected to the rules of Spanish grammar, with which 
it now coincides in syntax, in the conjugation of verbs, and in the declension 
of its nouns." We might have naturally expected that of the Gipsj' lan- 
guage, in the course of four hundred years, from the people speaking it be- 
ing so much scattered over the country, and coming so much in contact 
with the ordinary natives. But something dift'erent might be looked for, 
where the Gipsies have not been persecuted, but allowed to live together 
in a body, as in Hungai'y. Of the Hungarian Gipsy language, Mr. Borrow 
says, that in no part of the world is the Gipsj^ language better preserved 
than in Hungary ; and that the roving bands of Gipsies from that country,- 
who visit France and Italy, speak the pure Gipsy, with all its grammatical 
peculiarities. He estimates that the Spanish Gipsy language may consist 
of four or five thousand words ; a sufiicient number, one might suppose, to 
serve the purpose of everyday life. A late writer in the Dublin University 
Magazine estimates that five thousand words would serve the same purpose 
in the English language. Four thousand words is a very large larguage for 
the Gipsies of Spain to possess, in addition to the ordinaiy one of the couu- 
try. 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 433 

English Gipsies, in the State of New Jersey, speak among 
themselves ; ''but Gipsy is perfect gibble-gabble, like ducks 
and geese, for anything I can make of it." Some Gipsies 
can, of course, speak Gipsy much better than others. It is 
most unlikely that the Scottish Gipsies, with the head, the 
pride, and the tenacity of native Scotch, would be the first 
to forget the Gipsy language. The sentiments of the people 
themselves are very emphatic on that head. " It will never 
be forgotten, sir ; it is in our hearts, and, as long as a single 
Tinkler exists, it will be remembered," (page 297.) " So 
long as there existed two Gipsies in Scotland, it would never 
be lost," (page 316.) The English Gipsies admit that the 
language is more easily preserved in a settled life, but more 
useful to travelling and out-door Gipsies ; and that it is 
carefully kept up by both classes of Gipsies. This informa- 
tion agrees with our author's, in regard to the settled Scot- 
tish Gipsies. There is one very strong motive, among many, 
for the Gipsies keeping up their language, and that is, as I 
have already said, their self-respect. The best of them be- 
lieve that it is altogether problematical how they would be 
received in society, were they to make an avowal of their 
being Gipsies, and lay bare the history of their race to the 
world. The prejudice that exists against the race, and 
against them, they imagine, were they known to be Gipsies, 
drives them back on that language which belongs exclusively 
to themselves ; to say nothing of the dazzling hold which it 
takes of their imagination, as they arrive at years of reflec- 
tion, and consider that the people speaking it have been 
transplanted from some other clime. The more intelligent 
the Gipsy, the more he thinks of his speech, and the more 
care he takes of it. 

People often reprobate the dislike, I may say the hatred, 
which the more original Gipsy entertains for society ; for- 
getting that society itself has had the greatest share in the 
origin of it. When the race entered Europe, they are not 
presumed to have had any hatred towards their fellow- 
Oreatures."^ That hatred, doubtless, sprang from the severe 

* I cannot agree with Mr. Borrow, when he says, that tlie Gipsies 
"travelled three thousand miles into Europe, with haired in their hearts 
towards the people amonrj whom thei/ settled." In none of the earliest laws 
passed .against them, is anj'thing said of their being other than thieves, 
cheats, <fec., &c. They seem to have been too politic to commit murder ; 

19 



434 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

reception, and universal persecution, which, owing to the 
singularity of their race and habits, they everywhere met 
with. The race then became born into that state of things. 
What would subsequent generations know of the origin of 
the feud ? All that they knew was, that the law made 
them outlaws and outcasts ; that they were subject, as Gip- 
sies, to be hung, before they were born. Such a Gipsy 
might be compared to Pascal's man springing up out of an 
island : casting his eyes around him, he finds nothing but a 
legal and social proscription hanging over his head, in what- 
ever direction he may turn. Whatever might be assumed 
to have been the original, innate disposition of a Gipsy, the 
circumstances attending him, from his birth to his death, were 
certainly not calculated to improve him, but to make him 
much worse than he might otherwise have been. The worst 
that can be said of the Scottish Gipsies, in times past, has 
been stated by our author. With all their faults, we find a 
vein of genuine nobility of character running through all 
their actions, which is the more worthy of notice, consider- 
ing that they were at war with society, and society at war 
with them. Not the least important feature is that of grati- 
tude for kind and hospitable treatment. In that respect, 
a true Scottish Gipsy has always been as true as steel ; and 
that is saying a great deal in his favour. The instance 
given by our author, (pages 361-363,) is very touching, and 
to the point. I do not know how it may be, at the present 
day, in Scotland, where are to be found so many Irish 
Gipsies, of whom the Scottish and English Gipsies have not 
much good to say, notwithstanding the assistance they ren- 
der each other when they meet, (page 324.) If the English 
farmers are questioned, I doubt not that a somewhat similar 
testimony will be borne to the English Gipsies, to this extent, 
at least, that, when civilly and hospitably treated, and per- 

jnoreoTcr, it appears to have been foreign to their disposition to do aught 
but obtain a living in the most cunning manner they could. There is no 
necessary connection between purloining one's property and hating one's^ 
person. As long as the Gipsies were not hardly dealt with, they could,' 
naturally, have no actual hatred towards their fellow-creatures. Mr. Bor- 
row attributes none of the spite and hatred of the race towards the com- 
munity to the severity of the persecutions to which it was exposed, or to 
that hard feeling with which society has regarded it. These, and the ex- 
ample of the Spaniards, doubtless led the Gitanos to shed the blood of the 
ordinary natives. 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 435 

sonallj acquainted, they will respect the farmers^ property, 
and even keep others off it. Indeed, both Scottish and 
English Gipsies call tliis " Gipsy law." It is certainly not 
the Scottish Gipsies, or, I may venture to say, the English 
Gipsies, to whom Mr. Borrow's words may be applied, when 
he says : " I have not expatiated on their gratitude towards 
good people, who treat them kindly, and take an interest in 
their welfare ; for I believe, that, of all beings in the world, 
they are the least susceptible of such a feeling." Such a 
character may apply to tlie Spanish Gipsies for anything I 
know to the contrary ; and the causes to which it may be 
attributed must be the influences which the Spanish charac- 
ter, and general deportment towards the tribe, have exer- 
cised over them. In speaking of the bloody and wolfish 
disposition which especially characterizes the Gitanos, Mr. 
Borrow says : " The cause to which this must be attributed, 
must be their residence in a country, unsound in every 
branch of its civil polity, where right has ever been in less 
esteem, and wrong in less disrepute, than in any other part of 
the world." Grellmann bears as poor testimony to the 
character of the Hungarian Gipsies, in the matter of grati- 
tude, as Mr. Borrow does to the Spanish Gipsies, to whom I 
apprehend his remarks are intended to apply. But both of 
these authors give an opinion, unaccompanied by facts. 
Their opinion may be correct, however, so far as it is appli- 
cable to the class of Gipsies, or the individuals, to whom they 
refer. Gratitude is even a characteristic of the lower ani- 
mals. " For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of ser- 
pents, and of things in the sea, is tamed and hath been 
tamed of mankind," saith St. James ; the means of attaining 
to which is frequently kindness. I doubt not that the same 
can be said of Gipsies anywhere ; for surely we can expect 
to find as much gratitude in them as can be called forth 
from things that creep, fly, or swim in the sea. It is un- 
reasonable, however, to look for mucli gratitude from such 
Gipsies as the two authors in question liavc evidently alluded 
to ; for this reason : that it is a virtue rarely to be met with 
from those " to whom much has been given ;" and, conse- 
quently, very little should be required of those to whom 
nothing has been given, in the estimation of their fellow- 
creatures. In doing a good turn to a Gipsy, it is not the 
act itself that calls forth, or perhaps merits, a return in 



436 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

gratitude ; but it is the way in which it is done : for, while 
he is doubtless being benefited, he is, frequently if not gen- 
erally, as little sympathized with, personally, as if he were 
some loathsome creature to which something had been 
thrown. 

As regards the improvement of the Gipsies, I would make 
the following suggestions : The facts and principles of the 
present work should be thoroughly canvassed and imprinted 
upon the public mind, and an effort made to bring, if pos- 
sible, our high-class Gipsies to own themselves up to be 
Gipsies. The fact of these Gipsies being received into so- 
ciety, and respected, as Gipsies, (as it is with them, at present, 
as men,) could not fail to have a wonderful effect upon many 
of the humble, ignorant, or wild ones. They would perceive, 
at once, that the objections which the community had to 
them, proceeded, not from their being Gipsies, but from 
their habits, only. What is the feeling which Gipsies, who 
are known to be Gipsies, have for the public at large? 
The white race, as a race, is simply odious to them, for they 
know well the dreadful prejudice which it bears towards 
them. But let some of their own race, however mixed the 
blood might be, be respected as Gipsies, and it would, in a 
great measure, break down, at least in feeling, the wall of 
caste that separates them from the community at large. This 
is the first, the most important, step to be taken to improve 
the Gipsies, whatever may be the class to which they belong. 
Let the prejudice be removed, and it is impossible to say 
what might not follow. Before attempting to reform the 
Gipsies, we ought to reform, or, at least, inform, mankind in 
regard to them ; and endeavour to reconcile the world to 
them, before we attempt to reconcile them to the world ; and 
treat them as men, before we try to make them Christians. 
The ^oor Gipsies know well that there are many of their race 
occupying respectable positions in life ; perhaps they do not 
know many, or even any, of them, personally, but they believe 
in it thoroughly. Still, they will deny it, at least hide it from 
strangers, for this reason, among others, that it is a state to 
which their children, or even they themselves, look forward, 
as ultimately awaiting them, in which they will manage to 
escape from the odium of their fellow-creatures, which clings 
to them in their present condition. The fact of the poor 
travelling Gipsies knowing of such respectable settled Gip- 



DISQUISITION ON TEE GIPSIES. 437 

sies, gives them a certain degree of respect in their own 
eyes, which leads them to repel any advance from the other 
race, let it come in almost whatever sliape it may. The 
white race, as I have already said, is perfectly odious to 
them. This is exactly the position of the question. The 
more original kind of Gipsies feel that the prejudice which 
exists against the race to which they belong is such, that an 
intercourse cannot be maintained between them and the 
other inhabitants ; or, if it does exist, it is of so clandestine a 
nature, that their appearance, and, it may be, their general 
habits, do not allow or lead them to indulge in it. I will 
make a few more remarks on this subject further on in this 
treatise. 

What are the respectable, well-disposed Scottish Gipsies 
but Scotch people, after all ? They are to be met with in 
almost every, if not every, sphere in which the ordinary Scot 
is to be found. The only difference between the two is, 
that, however mixed tlie blood of these Gipsies may be, 
their associations of descent and tribe go back to those 
black, mysterious heroes who entered Scotland, upwards of 
three hundred and fifty years ago ; and that, with this de- 
scent, they have the words and signs of Gipsies. The pos- 
session of all these, with the knowledge of the feelings 
which the ordinary natives have for the very name of Gipsy, 
makes the only distinction between them and other Scotch- 
men. I do not say that the world would have any prejudice 
against these Gipsies, as Gipsies, still, they are morbidly sen- 
sitive that it would have such a feeling. The light of reason, 
of civilization, of religion, and the genius of Britons, forbid 
such an idea. What object more worthy of civilization, and 
of the age in which we live, than that such Gipsies would come 
forward, and, by their positions in society, their talents and 
characters, dispel the mystery and gloom that liang over the 
history of the Gipsy race ! 

But will these Gipsies do that ? I have my misgivings. 
They may not do it now, but I am sanguine enough to tliink 
that it is an event tliat may take place at some future time. 
The subject must, in the meantime, be thoroughly investi- 
gated, and the mind of the public fully prepared for such a 
movement. The Gipsies tliemsclves, to commence with, 
should furnish the public with information, anonymously, so 
far as they are personally concerned, or confidentially, 



438 DISqUISITIOS ON TEE GIPSIES. 

through a person of standing, who can guarantee the trust- 
worthiness of the Gipsy himself. I do not expect that they 
would give us any of the language ; but they can furnish us 
with some idea of the position which the Gipsies occupy in 
the world, and throw a great deal of light upon the history 
of the race in Scotland, in, at least, comparatively recent 
times. In anticipation of such an occurrence, I would make 
this suggestion to them : that they must be very careful 
what they say, on account of the " court holding them in- 
terested witnesses ;" and, whatever they may do, to deny 
nothing connected with the Gipsies. They certainly have 
kept their secret well ; indeed, they have considered the 
subject, so far as the public is concerned, as dead and buried 
long ago. It is of no use, however, Gipsies ; " murder will 
out ;" the game is up ; it is played out. I may say to you 
what the hunter said to the 'coon, or rather what the 'coon 
said to the hunter : " You may just as well come down the 
tree." Yes ! come down the tree ; you have been too long 
up ; come down, and let us know all about you.* 

Scottish Gipsies ! I now appeal to you as men. Am I not 
right, in asserting, that there is nothing you hold more dear 
than your Egyptian descent, signs, and language? And 
nothing you more dread than such becoming known to your 
fellow-men around you ? Do you not read, with the greatest 
interest, any and everything printed, which comes in your 
way, about the Gipsies, and say, that you thank God all that 
is a thousand miles away from you ? Whence this incon- 

* I accidentally got into conversation with an Irishman, in the city of 
New York, about secret societies, when he mentioned that he was a mem- 
ber of a great many such, indeed, " all of them," as he expressed it. I said 
there was one society of which he was not a member, when he began to 
enumerate them, and at last came to the Zincali. " What," said I, " are you a 
member of this society T " Yes," said he ; " the Zincali, or Gipsy." He then told 
me that there are many members of this society in the city of New York ; 
not all members of it, under that name, but of its outposts, if I may so ex- 
press it. The principal or arch-Gipsy for the city, he said, was a mer- 
chant, in street, who had in his possession a printed vocabulary, or 

dictionary, of the language, which was open only to the most thoroughly 
initiated. In the course of our conversation, it fell out that the native 
American Gipsy referred to at page 420 was one of the thoroughly initiated ; 
which circumstance explained a question he had put to me, and which I 
evaded, by saying that I was not in tlic habit of telling tales out of school. 

In Spain, as we have seen, a Gipsj^ taught her language to her son from 
a MS. I doubt not there are MS. if not printed vocabularies of the Gipsy 
language among the tribe in Scotland, as well as in other countries. 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 439 

sistency ? Ah ! I understand it well. Shall the prejudice of 
mankind towards the name of Gipsy drive you from the 
position which you occupy ? Can it drive you from it ? No, 
it cannot. The Gipsies, you know, are a people ; a " mixed 
multitude," no doubt, but still a people. You know you arc 
Gipsies, for your parents before you were Gipsies, and, con- 
sequently, that you cannot be anything but Gipsies. What 
effect, then, has the prejudice against the race upon you ? 
Does it not sometimes appear to you as if, figuratively speak- 
ing, it would put a dagger into your .hands against the rest 
of your species, should they discover that you belonged to 
the tribe ? Or that it would lead you to immediately " take 
to your beds," or depart, bed and baggage, to parts unknown ? 
But then, Gipsies, what can you do ? The thought of it 
makes you feel as if you were sheep. Some of you may be 
bold enough to face a lion in the flesh ; but who so bold as 
to own to the world that he is a Gipsy ? There is just one of 
the higher class that I know of, and he was a noble speci- 
men of a man, a credit to human nature itself. Although 
you might shrink from such a step, would you not like, and 
cannot you induce, some one to take it ? Take my word for 
it, respectable Scottish Gipsies, the thing that frightens you 
is, after all, a bug-bear — a scare-crow. But, failing some of 
you " coming out," would you not rather that the world 
should now know that much of the history of the Gipsy race, 
as to show that it was no necessary disparagement in any 
of you to be a Gipsy ? Would you not rather that a Gipsy 
might pass, anywhere, for a gentleman, as he does now, every- 
where, for a vagabond ; and that you and your children 
might, if they liked, show their true colours, than, as at pres- 
ent, go everywhere incog ^ and carry witliin them tliat 
secret which they are as afraid of being divulged to the 
world, as if you and all your kin were conspirators and mur- 
derers ? The secret being out, the incognito of your race 
goes for nothing. Come then, Scottish Gipsy, make a clean 
breast of it, like a man. Which of you will exclaim, 

" Thus from the gravo I'll rise, and savo my love ; 
Draw all your swords, and quick as li<rhtning move 1 
When I rush on, sure none will dare to stay ; 
'Tis love commands, and glory leads tlie way 1" 

Will none of you move ? Ah I Gipsies, you are " great 
hens," and no wonder. 



440 DISQUISITION ON TUE GIPSIES. 

American Gipsies, descendants of the real old British 
stock ! I make the same appeal to you. Let the world 
know how you are getting on, in this land of " liberty and 
equality ;" and whether any of your race are senators, con- 
gressmen, and what not. I have heard of a Gipsy, a slierifF 
in the State of Pennsylvania ; and I know of a Scottish 
Gipsy, who was lately returned a member of the Legislature 
of the State of New York. 

The reader may ask : Is it possible that there is a race of 
men, residing in the British Isles, to be counted by its hun- 
dreds of thousands, occupying such a position as that de- 
scribed ? And I reply, Alas ! it is too true. Exeter Hall 
may hobnob with Negroes, Hottentots, and Bosjesmen — al- 
ways with something or other from a distance ; but what 
has it ever done for the Gipsies ? Nothing ! It will rail 
at the American prejudice towards the Negro, and entirely 
pass over a much superior race at its own door ! The 
prejudice against the Negro proceeds from two causes — his 
appearance and the servitude in which he is, or has been, 
held. But there can be no prejudice against the Gipsy, on 
such grounds. It will not do to say that the prejudice is 
against the tented Gipsies, only ; it is against the race, root 
and branch, as far as it is known. What is it but that 
which compels the Gipsy, on entering upon a settled life, to 
hide himself from the unearthly prejudice of his fellow- 
creatures ? The Englishman, the Scotchman, and the Irisli- 
man may rail at the American for his peculiar prejudices ; 
but the latter, if he can but capitalize the idea, has, in all 
conscience, much to throw back upon society in the mother 
country. Instead of a class of the British public spending 
so much of their time in an agitation against an institution 
thousands of miles away from home, and over which they 
have, and can expect to have, no control, they might direct 
their attention to an evil lying at their own doors — that 
social prejudice which is so much calculated to have a blast- 
ing influence upon the condition of so many of their fellow- 
subjects. It is beyond doubt that there cannot be less than 
a quarter of a million of Gipsies in tlie British Isles, who 
are living under a grinding despotism of caste ; a despotism 
so absolute and odious, that the people upon whom it bears 
cannot, as in Scotland, were it almost to save their lives, 
even say who they are I Let the time and talents spent on 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 441 

the agitation in question be transferred, for a time, into 
some such channel as would be implied in a " British Anti- 
Gipsy-prejudice Association," and a great moral evil may 
disappear from the face of British society. In such a move- 
ment, there would be none of that direct or indirect interest 
to be encountered, which lies on the very threshold of sla- 
very, in whatever part of the world it exists ; nor would there 
be any occasion to appeal to people's pockets.^ After the 
work mentioned has been accomplished, the British public 
might turn their attention to wrongs perpetrated in otlier 
climes. Americans, however, must not attempt to seek, in 
the British Gipsy-prejudice, an excuse for their excessive 
antipathy towards Negroes. I freely admit that the dislike 
of white men, generally, for the Negro, lies in something that 
is irremovable — something that is irrespective of character, 
or present or previous social condition. But it is not so with 
the Gipsy, for his race is, physically, among the finest that 
are to be found on the face of the earth. Americans ought 
also to consider that there are plenty of Gipsies among 
themselves, towards whom, however, there are none of those 
prejudices that spring from local tradition or association, 
but only such as proceed from literature, and that towards 
the tented Gipsy. 

What is to be the future of the Gipsy race ? A reply to 
this question will be found in the history of it during the 
past, as described ; for it resolves itself into two very simple 
matters of fact. In the first place, we have a foreign race, 
deemed, by itself, to be, as indeed it is, universal, introduced 
into Scotland, for example, taken root there, spread, and 
flourished ; a race that rests upon a basis the strongest 
imaginable. On the other hand, there is the prejudice of 
caste towards the name, which those bearing it escape, only, 
by assuming an incognito among tlieir fellow-creatures. 
These two principles, acting upon beings possessing tlie feel- 
ings of men, will, of themselves, produce that state of things 
which will constitute the history of the Gipsies during all 
time coming, whatever may be the changes that may come 

* Among the various means by whicli the name of Gipsy can be raised 
up, it may be mentioned, that beginnin<^ the word with a capital is one of 
no little importance. The almost invariable custom with writers, in that 
respect, has been as if they were describing rats and mice, instead of a race 
of men. 

19* 



442 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

over their character and condition. They may, in course 
of time, lose their language, as some of them, to a great ex- 
tent, have done already ; but they will always retain a con- 
sciousness of being Gipsies. The language may be lost, but 
their signs will remain, as well as so much of their speech 
as will serve the purpose of pass-words. " There is some- 
thing there," said an English Gipsy of intelligence, smiting 
his breast, " There is something there which a Gipsy cannot 
explain." And, said a Scottish Gipsy : " It will never be 
forgotten ; as long as the world lasts, the Gipsies will be 
Gipsies." What idea can be more preposterous than that 
of saying, that a change of residence or occupation, or a 
little more or less of education or wealth, or a change of 
character or creed, can eradicate such feelings from the heart 
of a Gipsy ; or that these circumstances can, by any human 
possibility, change his descent, his tribe, or the blood that is 
in his body ? How can we imagine this race, arriving in 
Europe so lately as the fifteenth century, and in Scotland the 
century following, with an origin so distinct from the rest 
of the world, and so treated by the world, can possibly have 
lost a consciousness of nationality in its descent, in so short 
a time after arrival ; or, that that can happen in the future, 
when there are so many circumstances surrounding it to 
keep alive a sense of its origin, and so much within it to 
preserve its identity in the history of the human family ? 
Let the future history of the world be what it may, Gipsy- 
dom is immortal.^ 

In considering the question of the Gipsies being openly 
admitted, as a race, into tlie society of mankind, I ask, what 
possible reason could a British subject advance against such 
taking place with, at least, the better kind of Scottish Gip- 
sies ? Society, generally, would not be over-ready to lessen 
the distance between itself and tlie tented Gipsies, or those 
who live by means really objectionable ; but it should have 
that much sense of justice, as to confine its peculiar feelings 

* This sensation, in the minds of the Gipsies, of the perpetuity of tlieir 
race, creates, in a great measure, its immortality. Paradoxical as it may 
appear, the way to preserve the existence of a people is to scatter it, pro- 
vided, however, that it is a race thoroughly distinct from others, to com- 
mence with. When, by the force of circumstances, it has fairly settled 
down iuto the idea that it is a people, those living in one country become 
conscious of its existence in others ; and hence arises the principal cause of 
the perpetuity of its existence as a scattered people. 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 443 

to the ways of life of these individuals, and not keep them 
up against their children, when they follow different habits. 
If, for example, I should have raade the acquaintance of 
some Scottish Gipsies, associated with them, and acquired a 
respect for them, (as has happened with me,) how could I 
take exceptions to them, on account of it afterwards leaking 
out that they wxre Gipsies ? A sense of ordinary justice 
would forbid me doing so. I can see nothing objectionable 
in their conduct, as distinguished from that of other people ; 
and as for their appearance, any person, on being asked to 
point out the Gipsy, would, so far as colour of hair and eyes 
goes, pitch upon many a common native, in preference to 
them. A sense of ordinary justice, as I have said, ^vould 
disarm me of any prejudice against them ; nay, it would urge 
me to think tlie more of them, on account of their being 
Gipsies. To tlie ordinary eye, they are nothing but Scotch 
people, and pass, everywhere, for such. There is a Scottish 
Gipsy in the United States, with whom I am acquainted 
— a liberal-minded man, and good company — who carries 
on a w^holesale trade, in a respectable article of merchandise, 
and he said to me : " I will not deny it, nor am I ashamed 
to say it — I come from YetJiohn.^^ And I replied : " Why 
should you be ashamed of it ?" 

It is this liereditary prejudice of centuries towards the 
name, that constitutes the main difficulty in the way of recog- 
nition of these Gipsies by the world generally. How long 
it may be since they or their ancestors left the tent, is a 
thing of no importance ; personal character, education, and 
position in life, are the only things tliat should be considered. 
The Gipsies to whom I allude do not require to be reformed, 
unless in that sense in wliich all men stand in need of refor- 
mation : what is wanted is, that the world should raise up 
the name of Gipsy. And why sliould not that be done by 
the people of Great Britain, and Scotland especially, in 
whose mouths are continually tliesc words : " God hath made 
of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face 
of the earth ?" Will the British public spend its hundreds 
of thousands, annually, on every other creature under lieav- 
en, and refuse to countenance the Gipsy race? Will it 
squander its tens of tliousauds to convert, perhaps, on an 
average, one Jew, and refuse a kind wore], nay, grudge a 
smile, towards that body, £^ member of wliich may be an 



444 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

official of that Missionary Society, or, it may be, the very 
chairman of it ? I can conceive no liberal-minded Scotch- 
man, possessing a feeling of true self-respect, entertaining a 
prejudice against such Gipsies. The only people in Scotland 
in whose mind such a prejudice might be supposed to exist, 
are those miserable old women around the neighbourhood of 
Stirling, who, under the influence of the old Highland feud, 
will look with the greatest contempt upon a person, if he but 
come from the north of the Ochils. I would class, with such 
old women, all of our Scotch people who would object to the 
Gipsies to whom I have alluded. A Scotchman should even 
have that much love of country, as to take hold of his own 
Gipsies, and " back them up" against those of other coun- 
tries : and particularly should he do that, wlien the " Gip- 
sies" might be his cousins, nay, his own cliildren, for any- 
thing that he might know to the contrary. Scotch people 
should consider that the " Tinklers," w^hom they see going 
about, at the present day, are, if not the very lowest kind of 
Gipsies, at least those who follow the original ways of their 
race ; and are greatly inferior, not only relatively, but actu- 
ally, to many of those who have gone before them. They 
should also consider that Gipsies are a race, however mixed 
the blood may be ; subject, as a race, to be governed, in their 
descent, by those laws which regulate the descent of all 
races ; and that a Gipsy is as much a Gipsy in a house as in 
a tent, in a " but and a ben" as in a palace. 

Wherever a Gipsy goes, he carries his inherent peculiari- 
ties with him ; and the objection to him he considers to be 
to something inseparable from himself — that which he can- 
not escape 5 but the confidence which he has in his incognito 
neutralizes, as I have already said, the feelings wliich such a 
circumstance would naturally produce. But, to disarm him 
altogether of this feeling, all that is necessary is to state his 
case, and have it admitted by the " honourable of the earth;" 
so that his mind may be set at perfect rest on that point. 
He would, doubtless, still hide the fact of his being a Gipsy, 
but he would enjoy, in his retreat, that inward self-respect, 
among his fellow-creatures, which such an admission would 
give him ; and which is so much calculated to raise the peo- 
ple, generally, in every moral attribute. It is, indeed, a mel- 
ancholy thing, to contemplate this cloud which hangs over 
such a' man, as he mixes with other people, in his daily calJ 



DI8QUISITT0N ON TEE GIPSIES. 445 

ing ; but to dispel it altogether, the Gipsy himself must, in 
the manner described, give us some information about his 
race. Apart from the sense of justice which is implied in 
admitting these Gipsies, as Gipsies, io a social equality with 
others, a motive of policy should leaa us to take such a step ; 
for it can augur no good to society to have the Gipsy race 
residing in its midst, under the cloud that hangs over it. 
Let us, by a liberal and enlightened policy, at least blunt 
the edge of that antipathy which many of the Gipsy race 
liave, and most naturally have, to society at large. 

In receiving a Gipsy, as a Gipsy, into society, there should 
be no kind of officious sympathy shown him, for he is too proud 
to submit to be made the object of it. Should he say that he is 
a Gipsy, the remark ought to be received as a mere matter 
of course, and little notice taken of it ; just as if it made no 
difference to the other party whether he was a Gipsy or not. 
A little surprise would be allowable ; but anything like con- 
dolence would be out of the question. And let the Gipsy 
himself, rather, talk upon the subject, than a desire be shown 
to ask him questions, unless his remarks should allow them, 
in a natural way, to be put to him. As to the course to be 
pursued by the Gipsy, should he feel disposed to own himself 
up, I would advise him to do it in an off-handed, hearty 
manner ; to show not the least appearance that he had any 
misgivings about any one taking exceptions to him on that 
account. Should he act otlierwise, that is, hesitate, and 
take to himself shamefacedness, in making the admission, it 
would, perhaps, have been better for him not to have com- 
mitted himself at all : for, in such a matter, it may be said, 
that " he that doubteth is damned." The simple fact of a 
man, in Scotland, saying, after the apyjearance of this work 
there, that he is a Gipsy, if he is conscious of having the 
esteem of his neighbours, would probably add to his popu- 
larity among them ; especially if they were men of good 
sense, and had before their eyes the expression of good- will 
of the organs of society towards the Gipsy race. Such an 
admission, on the part of a Gipsy, would presumptively 
prove, that lie was a really candid and upright person ; for 
few Scottish Gipsies, beyond those about Yctholm, would 
make such a confession. Having mentioned the subject, the 
Gipsy should allude to it, on every appro})riate occasion, 
and boast of being in possession of those words and signs 



446 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

which the other is entirely ignorant of. He could well say : 
" What was Borrow to him, or he to Borrow ; that, for his 
part, he could traverse the world over, and, in the centre of 
any continent, be received and feasted, l3y Gipsies, as a king." 
If but one respectable Scottish Gipsy could be prevailed 
upon to act in this way, what an effect might it not have 
upon raising up the name of this singular race ! But there 
is a very serious difficulty to be encountered in the outset of 
such a proceeding, and it is this, that if a Gipsy owns him- 
self up, he necessarily " lets out," perhaps, all his kitli and 
kin ; a regard for whom would, in all probability, keep him 
back. But there would be no such difficulty to be met with 
in the way of the Gipsy giving us information by writing. 
Let us, then, Gipsy, have some writing upon the Gipsies. It 
will serve no good purpose to keep such information back ; 
the keeping of it back will not cast a doubt upon the facts 
and principles of the present work ; for rest assured, Gipsy, 
that, upon its own merits, your secret is exploded. I would 
say this to you, young Scottish Gipsy ; pay no regard to what 
that" old Gipsy" says, when he tells you, that "he is too old 
a bird to be caught with chaff in that way." 

The history of the Gipsies is the history of a people 
(mixed, in point of blood, as it is,) which exists ; not the his- 
tory of a people, like the Aborigines of North America, 
which has ceased to exist, or is daily ceasing to exist.* It 
is the history of a people within a people, with whom we 
come in contact daily, although we may not be aware of it. 
Any person of ordinary intelligence can have little difficulty 
in comprehending the subject, shrouded as it is from the eye 
of the world. But should he have any such difficulty, it will 
be dispelled by his coming in contact with a Gipsy who has 
the courage to own himself up to be a Gipsy. It is no ar- 
gument to maintain that the Gipsy race is not a race, be- 
cause its blood is mixed with other people. That can be 
said of all the races of Western Europe, the English more 
especially ; and, in a much greater degree, of that of the 
United States of America. Every Gipsy has part of tlie 

* The fact of these Indians, and the aboriginal races found in the coun- 
tries colonized by Europeans, disappearing so rapidly, prevents our regard- 
ing them with any great degree of interest. This circumstance detracts 
from that idea of dignity which the perpetuity and civilizatiou of their race 
would inspire in the minds of others. 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 447 

Gipsy blood, and more or less of the words and signs ; which, 
taken in connection with the rearing of Gipsies, act upon 
his mind in such a manner, that he is penetrated with the 
simple idea that he is a Gipsy ; and create that distinct feel- 
ing of nationality which the matters of territory, and some- 
times dialect, government, and laws, do with most of other 
races. Take a Gipsy from any country in the world you 
may, and the feeling of his being a Gipsy comes as naturally 
to him as does the nationality of a Jew to a Jew ; although 
we will naturally give him a more definite name, to distin- 
guish him ; such as an English, "Welsh, Scotch, or Irish 
Gipsy, or by whatever country of which the Gipsy happens 
to be a native. 

But I am afraid that what has been said is not sufficiently 
explanatory to enable some people to understand this sub- 
ject. These people know what a Gipsy, in the popular sense, 
means ; they have either seen him, and observed his general 
mode of life, or had the same described to them in books. 
This idea of a Gipsy has been impressed upon their minds 
almost from infancy. But it puzzles most people to form any 
idea of a Gipsy of a higher order ; such a Gipsy, for exam- 
ple, as preaches the gospel, or argues the law : that seems, 
hitherto, to have been almost incomprehensible to them. 
They know intuitively what is meant by any particular peo- 
ple who occupy a territory — any country, tract of land, or 
isle. They also know what is meant by the existence of tlie 
Jews. For the subject is familiar to them from infancy ; 
it is wrapt up in their early reading ; it is associated with 
the knowledge and practice of their religion, and the attend- 
ance, on the part of the Jews, at a place of worship. They 
have likewise seen and conversed with tlie Jews, or others 
who have done either or both ; or they are acquainted with 
them by the current remarks of the world. But a people 
resembling, in so many respects, the Jews, without having 
any territory, or form of creed, peculiar to itself, or any his- 
tory, or any peculiar outward associations or residences, or 
any material difference in appearance, character, or oc- 
cupation, is something that the general mind of mankind 
would seem never to liave dreamt of, or to be almost capa- 
ble of realizing to itself. We have already seen how a 
writer in Blackwood's Magazine gravely assorts, that, al- 
though " Billy Marshall left descendants numberless, the race, 



448 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

of which he was one, was in danger of becoming extinct ;" 
when, in fact, it had only passed from its first stage of ex- 
istence — the tent, into its second — tramping, without the 
tent ; and after that, into its ultimate stage — a settled life. 
We have likewise seen how Sir Walter Scott imagines that 
the Scottish Gipsies have decreased, since the time of 
Fletcher, of Saltoun, about the year 1680, from 100,000 to 
500, by '^ the progress of time, and increase of the means of 
life, and the power of the laws." Mr. Borrow has not gone 
one step ahead of these writers ; and, although I naturally 
enough excuse them, T am not inclined to let him go scot- 
free, since he has set himself forward so prominently as an 
authority on the Gipsy question.* 

In explaining this subject, it is by no means necessary to 
"crack an Qgg^^ for the occasion. There is doubtless a 
" hitch," but it is a hitch so close under our very noses, that 
it has escaped the observation of the world. Still, the point 
can be readily enough realized by any one. Take, for ex- 
ample, the Walker family. Walker knows well enough who 
his father, grandfather, and so forth were ; and holds him- 
self to be a Walker. Is it not so with the Gipsies ? What 
is it but a question of " folk ?" A question more familiar 
to Scotch people than any other people. If one's ancestors 
were all Walkers, is not the present Walker still a Walker ? 
If such or such a family was originally of the Gipsy race, is 
it not so still ? How did Billy Marshall happen to be a 
Gipsy ? Was he a Gipsy because he lived in a tent ? or, 
did he live in a tent, like a Gipsy of the old stock ? If Billy 
was a Gipsy, surely Billy's children must also have been 
Gipsies ! 

The error committed by writers, with reference to the so- 
called " dying-out" of the Gipsy race, arises from their not 
distinguishing between the questions of race, blood, descent, 
and language, and a style of life, or character, or mode of 
making a living. Suppose that a native Scottish cobbler 
should leave his last, and take to peddling, as a packman, 

* A writer in the Penny Cyclopsedia illustrates this absurd idea, in very 
plain terms, when he says: " In England, the Gipsies have much dimin- 
ished, of late years, in consequence of the enclosure of lands, and the laws 
against vagrants." Sir Walter Scott's idea of the Gipsies has been fol- 
lowed in a pictorial history of Scotland, lately issued from the Scottish 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 449 

and ultimately settle again in a town, as a respectable trades- 
man. On quitting "the roads," he would cease to be a 
packman ; nor could his children after him be called pack- 
men, because the whole famil}^ were native Scotch from the 
first ; following the pack having been only the occupation of 
the father, during part of his life. Should a company of 
American youths and maidens take to the swamp, cranberry- 
ing and gipsying, for a time, it could not be said that they 
had become Gipsies ; for they were nothing but ordinary 
Americans. Should the society of Quakers dissolve into its 
original elements, it would just be English blood quaker- 
ized returning to English blood before it was quakerized. 
But it is astonishing that intelligent men should conceive, 
and others retail, the ideas that have been expressed in re- 
gard to the destiny of the Gipsy race. What avails the les- 
sons of history, or the daily experience of every family of 
the land, the common sense of mankind, or the instinct of a 
Hottentot, if no other idea of the fate of the Gipsy race can 
be given than that referred to ? Upon the principle of the 
Gipsies " dying out," by settling, and changing their habits, 
it would appear that, when at home, in the winter, they were 
not Gipsies ; but that they were Gipsies, when they resumed 
their habits, in the spring ! On the same principle, it would 
appear, that, if every Gipsy in the world were to disappear 
from the roads and the fields, and drop his original habits, 
there would be no Gipsies in the world, at all I What idea 
can possibly be more ridiculous ?* 

It is better, however, to compare the Gipsy tribe in Scot- 
land, at the^present day, to an ordinary clan in the olden 
time ; although the comparison falls far short of the idea. 

* The following singular remarks appeared in a very late number of 
Chambers' Journal, on the subject of the Gipsies of the Danube: " As the 
•wild cat, the otter, and the wolf, generally disappear before the advance of 
civilization, the wild races of mankind are, in like manner and degree, gra- 
dually coming to an end, and from the same causes (!) The waste lands get 
enclosed, the woods are cut down, the police becomes yearly more efficient, 
and the Pariahs vanish with their means of subsistence. [Where do they 
goto?] In England, there are, at most, 1,500 Gipsivs(!) Before the end 
of the present century, they will probably be extinct over Western Eu- 
rope (!)" 

It is perfectly evident that the world, outside of Gijisydom, has to bo 
initiated in the subject of the Gipsies, as in the first principles of a science, 
or as a child is instructed in its alphabet. And yet, the above-mentioned 
writer takes upon himself to chide Mr. Borrow, in the matter of the Gip* 



450 DISQXnSITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

We know perfectly well what it was to have been a mem- 
ber of this or that clan. Sir Walter Scott knew well that 
he was one of the Buccleuch clan, and a descendant of Auld 
Beardie ; so that he could readily say tliat he was a Scott. 
Wherein, then, consists the difficulty in understanding what 
a Scottish Gipsy is ? Is it not simply that he is " one of 
them ;" a descendant of that foreign race of which we have 
such notice in the treaty of 1540, between James Y. and 
John Faw, the then head of the Scottish Gipsy tribe ? A 
Scottish Gipsy has the blood, the words, and the signs, of 
these men, and as naturally holds himself to be " one of 
them," as a native Scotchman holds himself to be one of his 
father's children. How, then, can a " change of habits" 
prevent a man from being his father's son ? How could a 
"change of habits" make a McGregor anything but a McGreg- 
or? How could the effects of any just and liberal law 
towards the McGregors lead to the decrease, and final ex- 
tinction, of the McGregors ? Every man, every family, 
every clan, and every people, are continually " changing 
their habits," but still remain the same people. It would be 
a treat to have a treatise from Mr. Borrow upon the Gipsy 
race " dying out," by " changing its habits," or by the acts 
of any government, or by ideas of " gentility." 

I have already alluded to a resemblance between the posi- 
tion of the Gipsy race, at the present day, and that of the 
English and American races. Does any one say that the 
English race is not a race ? Or that the American is not a 
race ? And yet the latter is a compost of everything that 
migrates from the Old World. But take some families, and 
we will find that they are almost pure English, in descent, 
and hold themselves to be actually such. But ask them if 
they are English, and they will readily answer : " English ? 
No, siree !" The same principle holds still more with the 
Gipsy race. It is not a question of country against country, 
or government against government, separated by an ocean ; 
but the difference proceeds from a prejudice, as broad and 
deep as the ocean, that exists between two races — the native, 
and that of such recent introduction — dwelling in the same 
community. 

I have explained the effect which the mixing of native 
blood with Gipsy has upon the Gipsy race, showing that it 
only modifies its appearance, and facilitates its passing into 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 451 

settled and respectable life. I will now substantiate the 
principle from what is daily observed among tlie native race 
itself. Take any native family — one of the Scotts, for ex- 
ample. Let us commence with a family, tracing its origin 
to a Scott, in the year 1600, and imagine that, in its de- 
scent, every representative of the name married a wife of 
another family, or clan, having no Scotts' blood in her veins. 
In the seventh descent, there would be only one one-lmndred 
and twenty-eighth part of the original Scott in the last re- 
presentative of the family. Would not the last Scott be a 
Scott ? The world recognizes him to be a Scott ; he holds 
himself to be a Scott — " every inch a Scott ;" and doubtless 
he is a Scott, as much as his ancestor who existed in the year 
1600. What difficulty can there, therefore, be, in under- 
standing how a man can be a Gripsy, whose blood is mixed, 
even " dreadfully mixed," as the English Gipsies express it ? 
Gipsies are Gipsies, let their blood be mixed as much as it 
may ; whether the introduction of the native blood may 
have come into the family through the male or the female 
line. 

In the descent of a native family, in the instance given, 
the issue follows the name of the family. But, with the 
Gipsy race, the thing to be transmitted is not merely a ques- 
tion of family, but a race distinct from any particular family. 
If a Gipsy woman marries into a native family, the issue 
retains the family name of the husband, but passes into the 
Gipsy tribe ; if a Gipsy man marries into a native family, 
the issue retains his name, in the general order of society, 
and likewise passes into the Gipsy tribe ; so that such 
intermarriages, which almost invariably take place un- 
known to the native race, always leave the issue Gipsy. 
For the Gipsy element of society is like a troubled 
spirit, which has been despised, persecuted, and damned ; 
cross it out, to appearance, as much as you may, it still 
retains its Gipsy identity. It then assumes tlie form of 
a disembodied spirit, that will enter into any kind of 
tabernacle, in the manner described, dispel every otlier 
kind of spirit, clean or unclean, as the case may be, and 
come up, under any garb, colour, character, occupation, or creed 
— Gipsy. It is perfectly possible, but not very probable, to 
find a Gipsy a Jew, in creed, and, for tlie most part, in point 
of blood, in the event of a Jew marrying a mixed Gipsy. 



452 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

He might follow the creed of the Jewish parent, and be ad- 
mitted into the synagogue ; but, although outwardly recog- 
nised as a Jew, and liaving Jewish features, he would still 
be a chabo ; for there are Gipsies of all creeds, and, like 
other people in the world, of no creed at all. But it is ex- 
tremely disagreeable to a Gipsy to have sucli a subject men- 
tioned in his hearing ; for he heartily dislikes a Jew, and 
says that no one has any " chance^' in dealing with him. A 
Gipsy likewise says, that the two races ought not to be men- 
tioned in the same breath, or put on the same footing, which 
is very true ; for reason tells us, that, strip the Gipsy of 
every idea connected with " taking bits o' things," and lead- 
ing a wild life, and there should be no points of enmity 
between him and the ordinary native ; certainly not that of 
creed, which exists between the Jew and the rest of the 
world, to which question I will by and by refer. 

The subject of the Gipsies has hitherto been treated as a 
question of natural history, only, in the same manner as we 
would treat ant-bears. Writers have sat down beside them, 
and looked at them — little more than looked at them — des- 
cribed some of their habits, and reported their chaff. To 
get to the bottom of the subject, it is necessary to sound the 
mind of the Gipsy, lay open and dissect his heart, identify 
one's self with his feelings, and the bearings of his ideas, 
and construct, out of these, a system of mental science, based 
upon the mind of the Gipsy, and human nature generally. 
For it is the mind of the Gipsy that constitutes tlie Gipsy ; 
that which, in reference to its singular origin and history, 
is, in itself, indestructible, imperishable and immortal. 

Consider, then, this race, which is of such recent introduc- 
tion upon the stage of the European world, of such a sin- 
gular origin and history, and of such universal existence, 
with such a prejudice existing against it, and the merest 
impulse of reflection, apart from the facts of the case, will 
lead us to conclude, that, as it has settled, it has remained 
true to itself, in the various associations of life. In what- 
ever position, or under whatever circumstances, it is to be 
found, it may be compared, in reference to its past history, 
to a chain, and the early Gipsies, to those who have charged 
it with electricity. However mixed, or however polished, 
the metal of the links may have since become, they have al- 
ways served to convey the Gipsy fluid to every generatiou 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 453 

of the race. It is even unnecessary to enquire, particularly, 
how that has been accomplished, for it is self-evident that 
the process which has linked otlier races to their ancestry, 
has doubly linked the Gipsy race to theirs. Indeed, the 
idea of being Gipsies never can leave the Gipsy race. A 
Gipsy's life is like a continual conspiracy towards the rest 
of the world ; he has always a secret upon his mind, and, 
from his childhood to his old age, he is so placed as if he 
were, in a negative sense, engaged in some gunpowder plot, 
or as if he had committed a crime, let his character be as 
good as it possibly may. Into whatever company he may 
enter, he naturally remarks to himself : " I wonder if there 
are any of us here." That is the position which the mixed 
and better kind of Gipsy occupies, generally and passively. 
Of course, there are some of the race who are always 
actually hatching some plot or other against the rest of the 
world. Take a Gipsy of the popular kind, who appears as 
such to the world, and there are two ideas constantly before 
him — that of the Gorgio and CJiaho : they may slumber 
while he is in his house, or in his tent, or when he is asleep, 
or his mind is positively occupied with something ; but let 
any one come near him, or him meet or accost any one, and 
he naturally remarks, to himself, that the person " is 7wt one 
of us," or that he " is one of us." He knows well what the 
native may be thinking or saying of him, and he as naturally 
responds in his own mind. This circumstance of itself, this 
frightful prejudice against the individual, makes, or at least 
keeps, the Gipsy wild ; it calls forth the passion of resent- 
ment, and produces a feeling of reckless abandon, that might 
otherwise leave him. To that is to be added tlie feeling, in 
the Gipsy's mind, of his race having been persecuted, for he 
knows little of the circumstances attending the origin of the 
laws passed against his tribe, and attributes them to perse- 
cution alone. He considers that he has a right to travel ; 
that he has been deprived of riglits to travel, which were 
granted to his tribe by the monarchs of past ages ; and, 
moreover, that his ancestors — the " ancient wandering Egyp- 
tians" — always travelled. He feels perfectly independent of, 
and snaps his fingers at, everybody ; and entertains a pro- 
found suspicion of any one who may approach liim, inasmuch 
as he imagines that the stranger, liowever fair lie may speak 
to him, has that feeling for him, as if he considered it poUu- 



454 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

tion to touch him. But he is very civil and plausible when 
he is at home. 

It is from such material that all kinds of settled Gipsies, 
at one time or other, have sprung. Such is the prejudice 
against the race, that, if they did not hide the fact of their 
being Gipsies from the ordinary natives, they would hardly 
have the " life of a dog" among them, because of their hav- 
ing sprung from a race which, in its original state, lias been 
persecuted, and so much despised. By settling in life, and 
conforming with the ways of the rest of the community, they 
'* cease to be Gipsies," in the estimation of the world ; for 
the world imagines that, when the Gipsy conforms to its 
ways, there is an end of his being a Gipsy. Barring the 
" habits," such a Gipsy is as much a Gipsy as before, al- 
though he is one incog. The wonder is not that he and his 
descendants should be Gipsies ; but the real wonder is, that 
they should not be Gipsies. Neither he nor his descendants 
have any choice in the matter. Does the settled Gipsy keep 
a crockery or tin establishment, or an inn, or follow any 
other occupation ? Then his children cannot all follow the 
same calling ; they must betake themselves to the various 
employments open to the community at large, and, their 
blood being mixed, they become lost to the general eye, 
amid the rest of the population. While this process is 
gradually going on, the Gipsy population which always re- 
mains in the tent — the hive from which the tribe swarms — 
attracts the attention of the public, and prevents it from 
thinking anything about the matter. In England, alone, we 
may safely assume that the tented Gipsy population, about 
the commencement of this century, must have increased at 
least four-fold by this time, while, to the eye of the public, it 
would appear that " the Gipsies are gradually decreasing, so 
that, by and by, they will become extinct." 

The world, generally, has never even thought about this 
subject. When I have spoken to people promiscuously in 
regard to it, they have replied : " We suppose that the Gip- 
sies, as they have settled in life, have got lost among the 
general population :" than which nothing can be more un- 
founded, as a matter of fact, or ridiculous, as a matter of 
theory. Imagine a German family settling in Scotland. 
The feeling of being Germans becomes lost in the first gen- 
eration, who do not, perhaps, speak a word of German. 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 455 

There is no prejudice entertained for the family, but, on the 
contrary, much good-will and respect are shown it by its 
neighbours. The parents identify themselves with those 
surrounding them ; the children, born in the country, be- 
come, or rather are, Scotch altogether ; so that all that re- 
mains is the sense of a German extraction, which, but for 
the name of the family, would very soon be lost, or become 
a mere matter of tradition. In every other respect, the fam- 
ily, sooner or later, becomes lost amid the general population. 
In America, we daily see Germans getting mixed with, and 
lost among, Americans ; but where is the evidence of such 
a process going on, or ever having taken place, in Great 
Britain, between the Gipsy and the native races? The 
prejudice which the ordinary natives have for the very name 
of Gipsy is sufficient proof that the Gipsy tribe has not been 
lost in any such manner. Still, it has not only got mixed, 
but " dreadfully mixed," with the native blood ; but it 
has worked up the additional blood within itself, having 
thoroughly gipsyfied it. The original Gipsy blood may be 
compared to liquid in a vessel, into which native liquid has 
been put : the mixture has, as a natural consequence, lost, 
in a very great measure, its original colour ; but, inasmuch 
as the most important element in the amalgamation has been 
mindj the result is, that, in its descent, it has remained, as 
before, Gipsy. Instead, therefore, of tlie Gipsies having 
become lost among the native population, a certain part of 
the native blood has been lost among them, greatly adding 
to the number of the body. 

We cannot institute any comparison between the intro- 
duction of the Gipsies and the Huguenots, the last body of 
foreigners that entered Great Britain, relative to the destiny 
of the respective foreign elements. For the Huguenots were 
not a race, as distinguished from every other creature in the 
world, but a religious party, taking refuge among a people 
of cognate blood and language, and congenial religious feel- 
ings and faith ; and were, to say the least of it, on a par, in 
every respect, with the ordinary natives, witli nothing con- 
nected with them to prevent an amalgamation with the 
other inliabitants ; but, on the contrary, liaving tliis char- 
acteristic, in common with the nations of Europe, that the 
place of birth constitutes the fact, and, taken in connection 
with the residence, creates the feelings of nationality and 



456 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

race. Many of my readers are, doubtless, conversant with 
the history of the Huguenots. Even in some parts of 
America, nothing is more common than for people to say 
that they are Huguenots, that is, of Huguenot descent, 
which is very commonly made the foundation of the con- 
nections and intimate associations of life. The peculiarity 
is frequently shown in the appearance of the individuals, and 
in such mental traits as spring from the contemplation of 
the Huguenots as an historical and religious party, even 
when the individual now follows the Catholic faith. But 
these people differ in no essential respect from the other 
inhabitants. 

But how different is the position always occupied by the 
Gipsies ! Well may they consider themselves " strangers 
in the land ;" for by whom have they ever been acknowl- 
edged? They entered Scotland, for example, and have 
increased, progressed, and developed, with so great a preju- 
dice against them, and so separated in their feelings from 
others around them, as if none had almost existed in the 
country but themselves, while they were " dwelling in the 
midst of their brethren ;" the native blood that has been 
incorporated with them having the appearance as if it had 
come from abroad. They, a people distinct from any other 
in the world, have sprung from the most primitive stage of 
human existence — the tent, and their knowledge of their 
race goes no further back than when it existed in other 
parts of the world, in the same condition, more or less, as 
themselves. They have been a migratory tribe, wherever 
they have appeared or settled, and have never ceased to be 
the same peculiar race, notwithstanding the changes which 
they have undergone ; and have been at home wherever they 
have found themselves placed. The mere place of birth, or 
the circumstance under which the individual has been 
reared, has had no effect upon their special nationality, 
although, as citizens of particular countries, they have as- 
similated, in their general ideas, with others around them. 
And not only have they had a language peculiar to them- 
selves, but signs as exclusively theirs as are those of Free- 
masons. For Gipsies stand to Gipsies as Freemasons to 
Freemasons ; with this difference — that Masons are bound to 
respond to and help each other, while such associations, 
among the Gipsies, are optional with the individual, who, 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 457 

bowever, is persuaded that the same people, with these ex- 
clusive peculiarities, arc to be met with in every part of the 
world. A Gipsy is, in his way, a Mason born, and, from his 
infancy, is taught to hide everything connected with his race, 
from those around him. He is his own tyler^ and tyles his 
lips continually. Imagine, then, a person taught, from his 
infancy, to understand that he is a Gipsy ; that his blood, (at 
least part of it,) is Gipsy ; that he has been instructed in the 
language, and initiated in all the mysteries, of the Gipsies ; 
that his relations and acquaintances in tlie tribe have under- 
gone the same experience ; that the utmost reserve towards 
those who are not Gipsies has been continually inculcated 
upon him, and as often practised before liis eyes ; and what 
must be the leading idea, in that person's mind, but that he 
is a Gipsy ? His i^edigree is Gipsy, his mind has been cast 
in a Gipsy mould, and he can no more " cease to be a Gipsy" 
than perform any other impossibility in nature. Thus it is 
that Gipsydom is not a work of man's hand, nor a creed, 
that is " revealed from faith to faith ;" but a work which has 
been written by the hand of God upon the heart of a family 
of mankind, and is reflected from the mind of one generation 
to that of another. It enters into the feelings of the very 
existence of the man, and such is the prejudice against his 
race, on the part of the ordinary natives, that the better 
kind of Scottisli Gispy feels that he, and more particularly 
she, would almost be " torn in pieces," if the public really 
knew all about them. 

These facts will sufficiently illustrate how a people, " re- 
sembling, in so many respects, the Jews, without having any 
territory, or form of creed, peculiar to itself, or any history, 
or any peculiar outward associations or residences, or any 
material difference in appearance, character, or occupation," 
can be a people, living among other people, and yet be dis- 
tinct from those among whom they live. The distinction 
consists in this people having blood, language, a cast of mind, 
and signs, peculiar to itself; the three first being the only 
elements which distinguish races ; for religion is a secondary 
consideration ; one religion being common to many distinct 
races. This principle, wliich is more commonly applied to 
people occupying dififerent countries, is equally applicable to 
races, clans, families, or individuals, living within tho 
boundary of a particular country, or dwelling in the same 
20 



458 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

corammiity. We can easily understand how two individuals 
can be two distinct individuals, notwithstanding their being 
members of the same family, and professing the same religion. 
We can still more easily understand the same of two families, 
and still more so of two septs or clans of the same general 
race. And, surely, there can be no difficulty in understand- 
ing that the Gipsy tribe, whatever may be its habits, is 
something different from any native tribe : for it has never 
yet found rest for the sole of its foot among the native race, 
although it has secured a shelter clandestinely ; and of the 
extent, and especially of the nature, of its existence, the 
world may be said to be entirely ignorant. The position 
which the Gipsy race occupies in Scotland is that which it 
substantially occupies in every other country — unacknowl- 
edged, and, in a sense, damned, everywhere. There is, there- 
fore, no wonder that it should remain a distinct family 
among mankind, cemented by its language and signs, and 
the knowledge of its universality. The plieuomenon rests 
upon purely natural causes, and differs considerably from 
that of the existence of the Jews. For the Jews are, every- 
where, acknowledged by the world, after a sort ; they have 
neither language nor, as far as I know, signs peculiar to 
themselves, (although there are secret orders among them,) 
but possess the most ancient history, an original country, to 
which they, more or less, believe they will be restored, and 
a religion of divine origin, but utterly superseded by a 
new and better dispensation. Notwithstanding all that, the 
following remark, relative to the existence of the Jews, since 
the dispersion, may very safely be recalled : " The philoso- 
phical historian confesses that he has no place for it in all 
his generalizations, and refers it to the mysteries of Provi- 
dence." For the history of the Gipsies bears a very great 
resemblance to it ; and, inasmuch as that is not altogether 
" the device of men's hands," it must, also, be referred to 
Providence, for Providence has a hand in everything. 

It is very true that the " philosophical historian has no 
place, in all his generalizations, for the phenomenon of the 
existence of the Jews, since the dispersion," for he has never 
investigated the subject inductively, and on its own merits. 
It is poor logic to assert that, because the American Indians 
are, to a great extent, and will soon be, extinct, therefore 
the existence of the Jews, to-day, is a miracle. And it would 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 469 

be nearly as poor logic to maintain the same of the Jews in 
connection with any of the ancient and extinct nations. 
There is no analogy between the history of the Jews, since 
the dispersion, and that of any other people, (excepting the 
Gipsies ;) and, consequently, no comparison can be instituted 
between them.* Before asking how it is tliat the Jews exist 
to-day, it would be well to enquire by what possible process 
they could cease to be Jews. And by wliat human means 
the Jews, as a people, or even as individuals, will receive 
Christ as their Messiah, and thereby become Christian 
Jews. This idea of the Jews existing by a miracle has 
been carried to a very great length, as the following quota- 
tion, from an excellent writer, on the Evidences of Chris- 
tianity, will show : " What is this," says he, " but a miracle ? 
connected with the prophecy which it fulfills, it is a double 
miracle. Whether testimony can ever establish the credi- 
bility of a miracle is of no importance here. This one is 
obvious to every man's senses. All nations are its eye-wit- 
nesses The laws of nature have been suspended 

in their case." This writer, in a spirit of gambling, stakes 
the whole question of revelation upon his own dogma ; and, 
according to his hypothesis, loses it. The laws of nature 
would, indeed, have been suspended, in tlieir case, and a 
miracle would, indeed, have been wrought, if the Jews had 
ceased to be Jews, or had become anything else than what 
they are to-day. Writers on the Christian Evidences should 
content themselves with maintaining that the Jews have 
fulfilled the prophecies, and will yet fulfill them, and assert 
nothing further of them. 

The writer alluded to compares the history of the Jews, 
since the dispersion, to the following phenomenon : " A 
mighty river, having plunged, from a mountain height, into 
the depths of the ocean, and been separated into its com- 
ponent drops, and thus scattered to the ends of the world, 
and blown about, by all winds, during almost eighteen cen- 
turies, is still capable of being disunited from the waters of 
the ocean ; its minutest drops, never having been assimilated 
to any other, are still distinct, unchanged, and ready to bo 
gathered." Such language cannot be applied to the Jews ; 
for the philosophy of their existence, to-day, is so very sim- 
ple in its nature, as to have escaped the observation of man- 

* I leave out of view various scattered nations in Asia. 



460 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

kind. I will give it further on in this Disquisition. The 
language in question is somewhat applicable to the Gipsies, 
for they have become ivorked into all other nations, in re- 
gard to blood and language, and are " still distinct and 
unchanged," as to their being Gipsies, whatever their habits 
may be ; and, although there is no occasion for them to be 
" gathered," they wT)uld yet, outwardly or inwardly, heartily 
respond to any call addressed to them.* 

There is, as I have already said, no real outward difference 
between many settled and educated Scottish Gipsies and 
ordinary natives ; for such Gipsies are as likely to have fair 
hair and blue eyes, as black. Their characters and occupa- 
tions may be the same ; they may have intimate associations 
together ; may be engaged in business as partners ; may 
even be cousins, nay, half-brothers. But let them, on 
separate occasions, enter a company of Gipsies, and the re- 
ception shown to tliem will mark the difference in tlie two 
individuals. The difference between two such Scotchmen, 
(for they really are both Scotch,) the reader may remark, 
makes the Gipsy only a Gipsy nominally, which, outwardly, 
he is ; but he is still a Gipsy, although, in point of colour, 
character, or condition, not one of the old stock ; for he has 
*' the blood," and has been reared and instructed as a Gipsy. 
But such a Gipsy is not fond of entering a company of Gip- 
sies, strangers to him, unless introduced by a friend in whom 
he has confidence, for he is afraid of being known to be a 
Gipsy. He is more apt to visit some of the more original 
kind of the race, where he is not known. On sitting down 
beside them, with a friendly air, they will be sure to treat 
him kindly, not knowing but that they may be entertaining 
a Gipsy unawares ; for such original Gipsies, believing that 
" the blood" is to be found well up in life, feel very curious 
when they meet with such a person. If he " lets out" an 
idea in regard to the race, and expresses a kindly feeling 
towards " the blood," the suspicions of his friends are at 
once excited, so that, if he, in an equivocal manner, remarks 
that he is " not one of them," hesitates, stammers, and pro- 
tests that he really is not one of tliem, they will as readily 
swear that he is one of them ; for well does the blackguard 

* It is interesting to hear the Gipsies speak of their race " taking of " 
this or the other race. Said an English Gipsy, to me., witli reference to some 
Gipsies of whom we were speaking: " They take of the Arabians." 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 461 

Gipsy, (as the world calls him,) know the delicacy of such 
settled and educated Gipsies in owning the blood. There 
is less suspicion shown, on such occasions, when the settled 
Gipsy is Scotch, and the bush Gipsy English ; and particularly 
so should the occasion be in America ; for, when they meet in 
America, away from tlie peculiar relations under which they 
have been reared, and where they can ''breathe," as they ex- 
press it, the respective classes are not so suspicious of each other. 
Besides the difference just drawn between the Gipsy and 
ordinary native — that of recognizing and being recognized 
by another Gipsy — I may mention the following general 
distinction between them. The ordinary Scot knows that 
he is a Scot, and nothing more, unless it be something about 
his ancestors of two or three generations. But the Gipsy's 
idea of Scotland goes back to a certain time, indefinite to 
him, as it may be, beyond which liis race had no existence 
in the country. Where his ancestors sojourned, immediately, 
or at any time, before they entered Scotland, he cannot tell ; 
but this much he knows of them, that they are neither Scot- 
tish nor European, but that they came from the East. The 
fact of his blood being mixed exercises little or no influence 
over his feelings relative to his tribe, for, mixed as it may 
be, he knows that he is one of the tribe, and that the origin 
of his tribe is his origin. In a word, he knows that he has 
sprung from tlie tent. Substitute the word Scotch for Moor, 
as related of the black African Gipsies, at page 429, and he 
may say of himself and tribe: " We are not Scotch, but can 
give no account of ourselves.'' It is a little different, if the 
mixture of his blood is of such recent date as to connect him 
with native families ; in that case, he has " various bloods'' 
to contend for, should they be assailed ; but liis Gipsy blood, 
as a matter of course, takes precedence. By marrying into 
the tribe, the connection with such native families gradually 
drops out of the memory of his descendants, and leaves the 
sensation of tribe exclusively Gipsy. Imagine, then, that 
the Gipsy has been reared a Gipsy, in the way so frequently 
described, and tliat he '' knows all about the Gipsies," while 
the ordinary native knows really nothing about them ; and 
we have a general idea of what a Scottish Gipsy is, as dis- 
tinguished from an ordinary Scotchman. If we admit that 
every native Scot knows wlio he is, we may readily assume 
that every Scottish Gipsy knows who he is. But, to place 



462 DISQUISITION ON TEE GIPSIES. 

the point of difference in a more striking light, it may be 
remarked, that the native Scot will instinctively exclaim, 
that " the present work has no earthly relation either to 
him or his folk ;" while the Scottish Gipsy will as instinct- 
ively exclaim : " It's us, there's no mistake about it f and 
will doubtless accept it, in the main, with a high degree of 
satisfaction, as the history of his race, and give it to his 
children as such. 

A respectable, indeed, any kind of, Scottish Gipsy does 
not contemplate his ancestors — the " Pilgrim Fathers," and 
" Pilgrim Mothers," too — as robbers, although he could do 
that with as much grace as any Higliland or Border Scot, 
but as a singular people, wlio doubtless came from the Pyra- 
mids ; and their language, as something about wliich he 
really does not know what to think ; whether it is Egyptian, 
Sanscrit, or what it is. Still, he has part of it ; he loves it : 
and no human power can tear it out of his heart. He knows 
that every intelligent being sticks to his own, and clings to 
his descent ; and he considers it his highest pride to be an 
Egyptian — a descendant of those swarthy kings and queens, 
princes and princesses, priests and priestesses, and, of course, 
thieves and thievesses, that, like an apparition, found their 
way into, and, after wandering about, settled down in, Scot- 
land. Indeed, he never knew anything else than that he 
was an Egyptian ; for it is in his blood ; and, what is more, 
it is in his heart, so that he cannot forget it, unless he should 
lose his faculties and become an idiot ; and then he would 
be an Egyptian idiot. How like a Gipsy it was for Mrs. 
Eall, of Dunbar, to " work in tapestry the principal events 
in the life of the founder of her family, from the day the 
Gipsy child came to Dunbar, in its mother's creel, until the 
same Gipsy child had become, by its own honourable exer- 
tions, the head of the first merca..tile establishment then 
existing in Scotland." 

The Scottish Gipsies, when their appearance has been 
modified by a mixture of tlie white blood, have possessed, in 
common with the Highlanders, the faculty of " getting out" 
of the original ways of their race, and becoming superior in 
character, notwithstanding the excessive prejudice that 
exists against the nation of which they hold themselves 
members. Except his strong partiality for his blood and 
tribe, language, and signs, such a Gipsy becomes, in his gen- 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 468 

eral disposition and ways, like any ordinary native. It is 
impossible that it should be otherwise. Whenever a Gipsy, 
then, forsakes his original habits, and conforms with the 
ways of the other inhabitants, he becomes, for all practical 
purposes, an ordinary citizen of the Gipsy clan. If he is a 
man of good natural abilities, the original wild ambition of 
his race acquires a new turn ; and his capacity fits him for 
any occupation. Priding himself on being an Egyptian, a 
member of this world-wide community, he acquires, as he 
gains information, a spirit of liberality of sentiment ; he 
reads history, and perceives that every family of mankind 
has not only been barbarous, but very barbarous, at one 
time ; and, from such reflections, he comes to consider liis 
own origin, and very readily becomes confirmed in his early, 
but indistinct, ideas of his people, that they really are some- 
body. Indeed, he considers himself not only as good, but 
better than other people. His being forced to assume an 
incognito, and " keep as quiet as pussy," chafes his proud 
spirit, but it does not render him gloomy, for his natural 
disposition is too buoyant for that. How, then, does such a 
Scottish Gipsy feel in regard to his ancestors ? He feels 
exactly as Highlanders do, in regard to theirs, or, as the 
Scottish Borderers do, with reference to the " Border Ruf- 
fians," as I have heard a Gipsy term tliem. Indeed, the gal- 
lows of Perth and Stirling, Carlisle and Jedburgh, could tell 
some fine tales of many respectable Scottish people, in times 
that are past. 

The children of such a Gipsy differ very much from those 
of the same race in their natural state, although they may 
have the same amount of blood, and tlie same eye. Tlie eye 
of the former is subdued, for his passions, in regard to his 
race, have never been called forth ; wliile the eye of the lat- 
ter rolls about, as if he were conscious that every one he 
meets with is remarking of him, " There goes a vagabond of 
a Gipsy." Two fine specimens of the former kind of Gipsies 
attended the High School of Edinburg]i,when I was at that in- 
stitution. Hearing tlie family frequently spoken of at home, my 
attention was often taken up with tlie boys, witliout under- 
standing what a Gipsy of that kind could mean ; altliough I 
had a pretty good idea of the common Gipsy, or Tinkler, as 
he is generally called in Scotland. These two young Gip- 
sies were what might be called sweet youths ; modest and sliy, 



464 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

among the other boys, as young tamed wild tnrkeys ; very 
dark in colour, with an eye that could be caught in what- 
ever way I might look at them. They now occupy very 
honourable positions in life. There were other Gipsies at the 
High School, at this time, but they were of the " brown sort." 
I have met, in the United States, with a Scottish Gipsy, 
taking greatly after the Gipsy, in his appearance ; a man 
very gentlemanly in his manners and bearing, and as 
neat and trim as if he had " come out of a box." It is natu- 
ral, indeed, to suppose that there must be a great differ- 
ence, in many respects, between a wild, original Gipsy, 
and one of the tame and educated kind, whose descent 
is several, perhaps many, generations from the tent. In 
the houses of the former, things are generally found lying 
about, here-away, there-away, as if they were just going 
to be taken out and placed in the waggon, or on the ass's 
back. 

It is certainly a singular position which is occupied, from 
generation to generation, and century to century, by our set- 
tled Scottish, as well as other, Gipsies, who are not known 
to the world as such, yet maintain a daily intercourse with 
others not of their own tribe. It resembles a state of serai- 
damnation, with a drawn sword hanging over their heads, 
ready to fall upon them at any moment. But the matter 
cannot be mended. They are Gipsies, by every physical and 
mental necessity, and they accommodate themselves to their 
circumstances as they best may. This much is certain, that 
they have the utmost confidence in their incognito, as regards 
their descent, personal feelings, and exclusively private asso- 
ciations. The word " Gipsy," to be applied to them by 
strangers, frightens them, in contemplation, far more than 
it does the children of the ordinary natives ; for they imagine 
it a dreadful thing to be known to their neighbours as Gip- 
sies. Still, they have never occupied any other position ; 
they have been born in it, and reared in it ; it has even 
been the nature of the race, from the very first, always to 
" work in the dark." In all probability, it has never oc- 
curred to them to imagine that it will ever be otherwise ; 
nor do they evidently wish it ; for they can see no possible 
way to have themselves acknowledged, by the world, as 
Gipsies. The very idea horrifies them. So far from letting 
the world know anything of them, as Gipsies, their constant 



BISQUISITTON ON TUE GIPSIES. 465 

care is to keep it in perpetual darkness on the subject. Of 
all men, these Gipsies may say : 

" rather bear those ills we have, 

Than fly to others that we know not of." 

Indeed, the only thing that worries such a Gipsy is the 
idea that the public should know all about Mm ; otherwise, 
he feels a supreme satisfaction in being a Gipsy ; as well as 
in having such a history of his race as I have informed him 
I proposed publishing, provided I do not in any way mix him 
up with it, or " let him out." By bringing up the body in the 
manner done in this work, by making a sweep of the whole 
tribe, the responsibility becomes spread over a large number 
of people ; so tliat, should the Gipsy become, by any means, 
known, personally, to the world, he would have the satisfac- 
tion of knowing that he had others to keep him company ; 
men occupying respectable positions in life, and respected, by 
the world at large, as individuals. 

Here, then, we have one of the principal reasons for 
everything connected with the Gipsies being hidden from 
the rest of mankind. They have always been looked upon 
as arrant vagabonds, while they have looked upon their an- 
cestors as illustrious and immortal heroes. How, then, are 
we to bridge over this gulf that separates them, in feeling, 
from the rest of the world ? The natural reply is, that 
we should judge them, not by their condition and character 
in times that are past, but by what tliey are to-day. 

That the Gipsies were a barbarous race when they entered 
Europe, in the beginning of the fifteenth century, is just what 
could have been expected of any Asiatic, migratory, tented 
horde, at a time when the inhabitants of Europe were little 
better than barbarous, themselves, and many of them abso- 
lutely so. To speak of the Highland clans, at that time, as 
being better than barbarous, would be out of the question ; 
as to the Irish people, it would be difficult to say what they 
really were, at the same time. Even the Lowland Scotch, a 
hundred years after the arrival of the Gipsies in Europe, 
were, with some exceptions, divided into two classes — " beg- 
gars and rascals," as history tells us. Is it, therefore, un- 
reasonable to say, that, in treating of the Gipsies of to-day, 
we should apply to them the same principles of judgment 
that have been applied to the ordinary natives ? If we refer 
20* 



466 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

to the treaty between John Faw and James Y., in 1540, we 
will very readily conclude that, three centuries ago, the 
leaders of the Gipsies were very superior men, in their way ; 
cunning, astute, and slippery Oriental barbarians, with the 
experience of upwards of a century in European society 
generally ; well up to the ways of the world, and the general 
ways of Church and State ; and, in a sense, at home with 
kings, popes, cardinals, nobility, and gentry. That was the 
character of a superior Gipsy, in 1540. In 1840, we find 
the race represented by as fine a man as ever graced the 
Church of Scotland. " Grand was the repose of his lofty 
brow, dark eye, and aspect of soft and melancholy meaning. 
It was a face from which every evil and earthly passion 
seemed purged. A deep gravity lay upon his countenance, 
which had the solemnity, without the sternness, of one of 
our old reformers. You could almost fancy a halo complet- 
ing its apostolic character." Some of the Scottish Gipsies 
of to-day could rery readily exclaim : 

" And, if thou said'st I am not peer 
To any one in Scotland here, 
Highland or Lowland, far or near, 
Oh, Donald, thou hast lied !" 

But it is impossible for any one to give an account of the 
Gipsies in Scotland, from the year 1506, down to the present 
time. This much, however, can be said of them, that they 
are as much Gipsies now as ever they were ; that is, the 
Gipsies of to-day are the representatives of the race as it ap- 
peared in Scotland three centuries and a half ago, and hold 
themselves to be Gipsies now, as, indeed, they always will do. 

Ever since the race entered Scotland, we may reasonably 
assume that it has been dropping out of the tent into settled 
life, in one form or other, and sometimes to a greater extent 
at one time than another. It never has been a nomadic race, 
in the proper sense of the word ; for a nomad is one who 
possesses flocks and herds, with which he moves about from 
pasturage to pasturage, as he does in Asia to-day. Mr. 
Borrow says that there are Gipsies who follow this kind of 
life, in Russia ; but that, doubtless, arises from the circum- 
stances in which they have found themselves placed.* " I 

* There is scarce a part of the habitable world where thej^ are not to be 
found ; their tents are alike pitched on the heaths of Brazil and the ridges 
of the Himalayan hills ; and their language is heard at Moscow and Madrid, 
in the streets of London and Stamboul. They are found in all parts of 



DISqVISITION ON TEE GIPSIES. 467 

tliink," said an English Gips}^ to me, " tliat we must take 
partly of the ancient Egyptians, and partly of the Arabs ; 
from the Egyptians, owing to our settled ways, and from the 
Arabs, owing to our wandering habits." Upon entering 
Europe, they must have wandered about promiscuously, for 
some short time, before pitching upon territories, wliich they 
would divide among themselves, under their kings and chief- 
tains. Here we find the proper sphere of the Gipsy, in his 
original state. In 1506, Anthonius Gawino is represented, by 
James lY., to his uncle, the king of Denmark, as having 
" sojourned in Scotland in peaceable and catholic manner :" 
and John Faw, by James Y., in 1540, during his " pilgrim- 
age," as " doing a lawful business ;" which evidently had 
some meaning, as we find that seven pounds were paid to tlie 
Egyptians by the king's chamberlain. In 1496, the Gipsies 
made musket-balls for the king of Hungary ; and, in 1565, 
cannon-balls for the Turks. In short, they were travelling 
smiths, or what has since been called tinkers, with a turn for 
any kind of ordinary mechanical employment, and particu- 
larly as regards working in metals ; dealers in animals, petty 
traders, musicians, and fortune-tellers, with a wonderful 
knack for " transferring money from other people's pockets 
into their own ;" living representatively, but apparently not 
wholly, in tents, and " helping themselves " to wliatever they 
stood in need of."^ 

Speaking of the Gipsy chiefs mentioned in the act of James 
Y., our author, as we have seen, very justly remarks : " It 
cannot be supposed that the ministers of tliree or four suc- 
ceeding raonarchs would have suffered their sovereigns to 
be so much imposed on, as to allow them to put their names 

Russia, with the exception of the Government of St. Petersburg, from which 
they have been banished. In most of the provincial towns, they are to bo 
found in a state of half civilization, supporting themselves by trafficking in 
horses, or by curing the disorders incidental to those animals. But the vast 
majority reject this manner of life, and traverse the country in bauds, like 
the ancient Ilamaxobioi ; the immense grassy plains of Russia affording 
pasturage for their herds of cattle, on which, and the produce of the chase, 
they chiefly depend for subsistence. — Bornm. 

* Considering what is popularly understood to be the natural disposition 
and capacity of the Gipsies, we would readjiy conclude that to turn inn- 
keepers would be the most unlikely of all their employments ; yet that is 
very common, Mahommed said, " If the mountain will not come to us, wo 
will go to the mountain." The Gipsies say, " If wc do not go to the peo- 
ple, the people mpst ppmp tQ PS ;" apd so they opeii their houses of enter- 
tainmeut. 



468 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

to public documents styling poor and miserable wretches, as 
we at the present day imagine them to have been, ' Lords 

and Earls of Little Egypt.' I am disposed 

to believe that Anthonius Gawino, in 1506, and John Faw, in 
1540, would personally, as individuals, that is, as Gipsy 
rajahs, have a very respectable and imposing appearance, in 
the eyes of the officers of the crown.'' (Page 108.)* We 
have likewise seen how many laws were passed, by the Scots 
parliament, against *' great numbers of his majesty's subjects, 
of whom some outwardly pretend to be famous and unspot- 
ted gentlemen," for encouraging and supporting the Gipsies ; 
and, in the case of William Auchterlony, of Cayrine, for re- 
ceiving into their houses, and feasting them, their wives, 
children, servants, and companies. All this took place 
more than a hundred years after the arrival of the Gipsies in 
Scotland, and seventy-six years after the date of the treaty 
between James Y. and John Faw. We can very readily 
believe that the sagacity displayed by this chief and his 
folk, to evade the demand made upon them to leave the 
country, was likewise employed to secure their perpetual 
existence in it ; for, from the first, their intention was evi- 
dently to possess it. Hence their original story of being 
pilgrims, which would prevent the authorities from disturb- 
ing them, but which had no effect upon Henry YIIL, whom, 
of all the monarchs of Europe, they did not hoax. Grell- 
mann mentions their having obtained passports from the 
Emperor Sigismund, and other princes, as well as from the 
king of France, and the Pope. 

Entering Scotland with the firm determination to " pos- 
sess" the country, the Gipsies would, from the very first, 
direct their attention towards its occupation, and draw into 
their body much of the native blood, in the way which I 
have already described. And there was certainly a large 

* The following is a description of a superior Spanish Gipsy, in 1584, as 
quoted by Mr, Borrow, from the memoirs of a Spaniard, who had seen 
him •: "At this time, they had a count, a fellow who spoke the Castilian 
idiom with as much purity as if he had been a native of Toledo. He was 
acquainted with all the ports of Spain, and all the difficult and broken 
ground of the provinces. He knew the exact strength of every city, and 
who were the principal p^ople in each, and the exact amount of their 
property ; there was nothing relative to the state, however secret, that he 
wa? not acquainted with ; nor did he make a mystery of his know edge, but 
publicly boasted of it." 



DISQUISITION ON TUE GIPSIES. 469 

floating population in the country, from wliich to draw it. 
It would little consist with the feelings of Highland or Low- 
land outlaws to exist without female society ; nor was that 
female society easily to be found, apart from some kind of 
settled life ; hence, in seeking for a home, which is insepar- 
able from the society of a female, our native outlaw would 
very naturally and readily " haul up" with the Gipsy woman ; 
for, being herself quite " at home," in her tent, she would 
present just the desideratum which the other was in quest 
of. For, although " Gipsies marry with Gipsies," it is only 
as a rule, the exceptions being many, and, in all probability, 
much more common in the early stage of their European 
history. The present " dreadfully mixed" state of Gipsy- 
dom is a suJQficient proof of this fact. The aversion, on the 
part of the Gipsy, to intermarry with the ordinary natives, 
proceeds, in the first place, from the feelings which the na- 
tives entertain for her race. Remove those feelings, and the 
Gipsies, as a body, would still marry among themselves ; for 
their pride in their peculiar sept, and a natural jealousy of 
those outside of their mystic circle, would, alone, keep the 
world from penetrating their secrets, without its being ex- 
tended to him who, by intermarriage, became " one of them." 
There is no other obstacle in the way of marriages between 
the two i-aces, excepting the general one, on the part of tlic 
Gipsies, and which is inherent in them, to preserve them- 
selves as a branch of a people to be found in every country. 
Admitting the general aversion, on the part of the Gipsies, 
to marry with natives, and we at once see the unlikelihood 
of their women playing the luanton with them. Still, it is 
very probable that they, in some instances, bore children to 
some of the " unspotted gentlemen," mentioned, by act of 
parliament, as having so greatly protected and entertained 
the tribe. Such illegitimate children would be put to good 
service by the Gipsy chiefs. By one means or other, tliere 
is no doubt but the Gipsies made a dead-set upon certain 
native families of influence. The capacity that could devise 
such a scheme for remaining in the country, as is contained 
in the act of 1540, and influence the courts of the regency, 
and of Queen Mary, to reinstate them in tlieir old ])osition, 
after the severe order of J 541, proclaiming banishment 
within thirty days, and death thereafter, even wlien the 
" lords understood, perfectly, the great thefts and skaiths^ 



470 DISQUISITION ON TEE GIPSIES. 

(damages,) done by the said Egyptians," could easily execute 
plans to secure a hold upon private families. If to all this 
we add the very nature of Gipsy dom ; how it always remains 
true to itself, as it gets mixed with the native blood ; how it 
works its way up in the world ; and how its members " stick 
to each other ;" we can readily understand how the tribe 
acquired important and influential friends in high places. 
Do not speak of the attachment of the Jewess to her people : 
that of the Gipsy is greater. A Jewess passes current, any- 
where, as a Jewess ; but the Gipsy, as she gets connected 
with a native circle, and moves about in the world, does so 
clandestinely, for, as a Gipsy, she is incog, ; so that her at- 
tachment remains, at heart, with her tribe, and is all the 
stronger, from the feelings that are peculiar to her singularly 
wild descent. I am very much inclined to think that Mrs. 
Baillie, of Lamington, mentioned under the head of Tweed- 
dale and Clydesdale Gipsies, was a Gipsy ; and the more so, 
from having learned, from two different sources, that the 

present Baillie, of , is a Gipsy. Considering that 

courts of justice have always stretched a point, to convict 
and execute Gipsies, it looks like something very singular, that 
William Baillie, a Gipsy, who was condemned to death, in 
1714, should have had his sentence commuted to banishment, 
and been allowed to go at large, while others, condemned with 
him, were executed. And three times did he escape in that 
manner, till, at last, he was slain by one of his tribe. It 
also seems very singular, that James Baillie, another Gipsy, 
in 1772, should have been condemned for the murder of his 
wife, and, also, had his sentence commuted to banishment, 
and been allowed to go at large : and that twice, at least. 
"Well might McLaurin remark : " Few cases have occurred 
in which there has been such an expenditure of mercy." 
And tradition states that " the then Mistress Baillie, of 
Lamington, and her family, used all their interest in obtain- 
ing these pardons for James Baillie." No doubt of it. But 
the reason for all this was, doubtless, different from that of 
*' James Baillie, like his fathers before him, pretending that 
he was a bastard relative of the family of Lamington." 

A somewhat similar case of pardoning Gipsies is related 
by a writer in Blackwood's Magazine, as having occurred 
towards the end of last century ; the individual procuring 
the pardon being the excitable Duchess of Gordon, the same, 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 471 

I presume, whom Burns' genius " fairly lifted off her feet." 
The following are the circumstances, as given by this writer : 
A Berwickshire farmer liad been missing sheep, and lay in 
wait, one night, with a servant, for the depredators. They 
seized upon Tam Gordon, the captain of tlie Spittal Gipsies, 
and his son-in-law, Ananias Faa, in the very act of stealing 
the sheep ; when the captain drew a knife, to defend him- 
self. They were convicted and condemned for the crime ; 
" but afterwards, to the great surprise of their Berwickshire 
neighbours, obtained a pardon, a piece of unmerited and ill- 
bestowed clemency, for which, it was generally understood, 
they were indebted to the interest of a noble northern family, 
of their own name. We recollect hearing a sort of ballad 
upon Tam's exploits, and his deliverance from tlie gallows, 
through the intercession of a celebrated duchess, but do not 
recollect any of the words."^ 

A transaction like this must strike the reader as some- 
thing very remarkable. Sheep-stealing, at the time men- 
tioned, was a capital offence, for which there was almost no 
pardon ; and more especially in the case of people wlio were 
of notorious " habit and repute Gipsies," caught in tlie very 
act, which was aggravated by their drawing an " invasive 
weapon." Not only were they condemned, but we may 
readily assume that the " country-side " were crying, " Hang 
and bury the vagabonds ;" and death seemed certain ; when 
in steps the duchess, and snatches them both from the very 
teeth of the gallows. What guarantee have we that the 
duchess was not a Gipsy ? It certainly was not likely that 
a Gipsy woman would step out of her tent, and seize a 
coronet ; but what cannot we imagine to have taken place, 
in " the blood" working its way up, during the previous 250 
years ? What guarantee have we that Professor Wilson 
was not " taking a look at the old thing," when rambling 
with the Gipsies, in his youth ? There are Gipsy families in 
Edinburgh, to-day, of as respectable standing, and of as good 
descent, as could be said of him, or many others who have 
distinguished themselves in the world. 

We must not forget that, when the Gipsies entered Scot- 
land, it was for better or for worse, just for what was 
to " turn up." Very soon after their arrival, the country 

* I should suppose that this was Captnin Gordon who behaved himself 
like a prince, at the North Queensferry. See page 173. 



472 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

would become their country, as much as that of the ordinary 
natives ; so that Scotland became their home, as much as if 
it had always been that of their race, except their retaining 
a tradition of their recent arrival from some part of the 
East, and a singular sense of being part and parcel of " the 
Egyptians that were scattered over the face of the earth ;" 
neither of which the odious prejudice against " the blood" 
allowed them to forget ; assuming that they were will- 
ing, and, moreover, that the cast of their minds allowed 
them, to do either. The idea which has been expressed by 
the world, generally, of the Gipsy tribe gradually assimi- 
lating with the native race, and ultimately " getting lost 
among it," applies to the principle at issue ; for, as I have 
already said, it has got greatly lost, in point of appearance, 
and general deportment, among the ordinary natives, but has 
remained, heart and soul, Gipsy, as before. Even with the 
native race, we will find tliat the blood of the lowly is always 
getting mixed with that in the higher circles of life. We 
have the case of a girl going to service with a London brewer, 
then becoming his wife, then his widow, then employing a 
lawyer to manage her affairs, and afterwards marrying him, 
who, in his turn, became Earl of Clarendon, and father, by 
her, of the queen of James II. Towards tlie end of last, or 
beginning of the present, century, we hear of a poor actress, 
who commenced life in a provincial theatre, marrying one 
of the Coutts, the bankers, and dying Duchess of St. Albans. 
Such events have been of much more common occurrence in 
less elevated spheres of life ; and the Gipsy race has had its 
share of them. For this reason, it is really impossible to 
say, who, among the Scotch, are, and who are not, of the 
Gipsy tribe ; such a thorough mess has the " mixing of the 
blood" made of the Scottish population. Notwithstanding 
all that, there is a certain definite number of " Gipsies" in 
Scotland, known to God only ; while each Gipsy is known 
in his or her conscience to belong to the tribe. This 
much is certain, that we need not consult the census returns 
for the number of the tribe in Scotland. However easy, or 
however difficult, it may be, to define what a Gipsy, in re- 
gard to external or internal circumstances, is, this much is 
certain, that the feeling in his mind as to his being a Gipsy, 
is as genuine and emphatic as is the feeling in the mind of 
a Jew being a Jew. 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 478 

The circumstances connected with the perpetuation of the 
Gipsy and Jewish races greatly resemble each other. Both 
races are scattered over the face of the earth. The Jew lias 
had a home ; he has a strong attachment to it, and looks 
forward to enter it at some future day. The Gipsy may be 
said never to have had a home, but is at home everywhere. 
" What part of England did you come from T said I to an 
English semi-tented Gipsy, in America. " What part of 
England did I come from, did you say ? I come from all 
over England /" The Scottish race, as a race, is confined to 
people born in Scotland ; for the children of expatriated 
Scots are not Scotchmen. And so it is with people of other 
countries. The mere birth upon the soil constitutes their 
race or nationality, although subsequent events, in early life, 
may modify the feelings, or draw them into a new channel, 
by a change of domicile, in infancy. But the Jew's nation- 
ality is everywhere ; 'tis in his family, and his associations 
with others of his race. Make the acquaintance of the 
Jews, and you will find that each generation of them tell 
their " wonderful story" to the following generation, and 
the story is repeated to the following, and the following. 
The children of Jews are taught to know tliey are Jews, be- 
fore they can even lisp. Soon do they know tliat much of 
the phenomenon of their race, as regards its origin, its his- 
tory, and its universality, to draw the distinction between 
them and those around them who are not Jews. Soon do 
they learn how their race has been despised and persecuted, 
and imbibe the love which their parents have for it, and the 
resentment of the odium cast upon it by others. It has been 
so from the beginning of their history out of Palestine, and 
even while there. Were it only religion, considered in it- 
self, that has kept the Jews together as a people, they might 
have got lost among the rest of mankind ; for among tlie 
Jews there are to be found the i-ankest of infidels ; even 
Jewish priests will say that, " it signifies not wliat a man's 
religion may be, if he is only sincere in it." Is it a feeling, 
or a knowledge, of religion that leads a Jewish child, almost 
the moment it can speak, to say that it is a Jew ? It is 
simply the workings of the phenomena of race tliat account 
for this ; the religion peculiar to Jews liaving ))cen intro- 
duced among them centuries after their existence as a 
people. Being exclusively theirs in its very nature, they 



474 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

naturally follow it, as other people do theirs ; but, although, 
from the nature of its origin, it presents infinitely greater 
claims upon their intelligent belief and obedience, they have 
yielded no greater submission to its spirit and morals, or 
even to its forms, than many other people have done te their 
religion, made up, as that has been, of the most fabulous 
superstition, on the principle, doubtless, that 

" The zealous crowds in ignorance adore, 
And still, the less they know, they fear the more." 

The Jews being a people before they received the religion 
by which they are distinguished, it follows that the religion, 
in itself, occupies a position of secondary importance, al- 
though the profession of it acts and reacts upon the people, 
in keeping them separate from others. The most, then, that 
can be said of the religion of the Jews is, that, following in 
the wake of their history as a people, it is only one of the pil- 
lars by which the building is supported.* If enquiry is made 
of Jewish converts to Christianity, we will find that, not- 
withstanding their having separated from their brethren, 
on points of creed, they hold themselves as much Jews as 
before. But the conversions of Jews are, 

" Like angels' visits, few and far between." 

In the case of individuals forsaking the Jewish, and joining 
the Christian, Church, that is, believing in the Messiah 
having come, instead of to come, it is natural, I may say 
inevitable, for them to hold themselves Jews. They have 
feelings which the world cannot understand. But beyond 
the nationality, physiognomy, and feelings of Jews, there 
are no points of diJQference, and there ought to be no 
grounds of offense, between them and the ordinary inhab- 

* The only part of the religion of the Jews having an origin prior to the 
establishment of the Mosaic law was circumcision, which was termed the 
covenant made by God with Abraham and his seed. (Gen. xvii. 10-14.) 
The abolition of idols, and the worship of God alone, are presumed, although 
not expressed. The Jews lapsed into gross idolalrj' while in Egypt, but 
were not likely to neglect circvimcision, as that was necessary to maintain 
a physical uniformity among the race, but did not enter into the wants, 
and hopes, and fears, inherent in the human breast, and stimulated by tha 
daily exhibition of the phenomena of its existence. The second table of 
the moral law was, of course, written upon the hearts of the Jews, in com 
mon with those of the Gentiles. (Rom. ii. 14, 15.) 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 475 

itants. While the points of antipathy between the Jew 
and Christian rest, not npon race, considered in itself, but 
mainly upon religion, and the relations proceeding from it, 
it has to be seen what is to be the feeling, on the part of 
the world, towards the Gipsy race ; such part of it, at least, 
whose habits are unexceptionable. This is one of the ques- 
tions which it is the object of this Disquisition to bring to 
an issue. 

Substitute the language and signs of the Gipsies for tlie 
religion of the Jews, and we find that tlie rearing of the 
Gipsies is almost identical with that of the Jews ; and in 
the same manner do they hold themselves to be Gipsies. 
But the one can be Gipsies, though ignorant of their lan- 
guage and signs, and the other, Jews, though ignorant of 
their religion ; the mere sense of tribe and community being 
sufficient to constitute them members of tlieir respective 
nationalities. The origin of the Gipsies is as distinct from 
that of the rest of the world, in three continents, at least, 
as is that of the Jews ; and, laying aside the matter of re- 
ligion, their history, so far as it is known to the world, is as 
different. If they have no religion peculiar to themselves, 
to assist in holding them together, like the Jews, they have 
that which is exclusively theirs — language and signs ; about 
which there are no such occasions to quarrel, as in the affair 
of a religious creed. Indeed, the Gipsy race stands towards 
religions, as the Christian religion does towards races. 

People are very apt to speak of the blood of the Jews 
being " purity itself f than which nothing is more unfounded. 
If a person were asked. What is a pure Jew ? he would feel 
puzzled to give an intelligent answer to the question. We 
know that Abraham and Sarah were the original parents of 
the Jewish race, but tliat much blood has been added to it, 
from other sources, ever since. Even four of the patriarchs, 
the third in descent from Abraham, were the sons of concu- 
bines, who were, doubtless, bouglit with money, from the 
stranger, (Gen. xvii. 12 and 18,) or the descendants of such, 
and were, in all probability, of as different a race from their 
mistresses, Leah and Rachel, as was the bondmaid, Hagar, 
the Egyptian, from her mistress, Sarah. Joseph married a 
daughter of the Egyptian priest of On, and Moses, a daugli- 
ter of an Ethiopian priest of Midian. From a circumstance 
mentioned in tlie Exodus, it would appear that Egyptian 



m j^isquisiTioN ON the gipsies. 

blood, perhaps much of it, had been incorporated with that 
of the Jews, while in Egypt.* And much foreign blood 
seems to have been added to the body, between the Exodus 
and the Babylonian captivity, through the means of pros- 
elytes and captives, strange women and bondmaids, concu- 
bines and harlots. We read of Rahab, of Jericho, an inn- 
keeper, or harlot, or both, marrying Salmon, one of tlie chief 
men in the tribe of Judah, and becoming the mother of 
Boaz, who married Euth, a Moabitish woman, the daughter- 
in-law of Naomi, and grandmother of David, from whom 
Christ was lineally descended. Indeed, \\\q, Jews have al- 
ways been receiving foreign blood into their body. TVe 
read of Timothy having been a Greek by the father^s side, 
and a Jew by the mother's ; and of his having been brought 
up a Jew. Such events are of frequent occurrence. There 
is no real bar to marriages between Jews and Christians, 
although circumstances render them difficult. The children 
of such marriages sometimes resemble the Jew, and some- 
times the Christian ; sometimes they cast their lot with 
the Jews, in the matter of religion, and sometimes with the 
Christians ; but they generally follow the mother in that 
matter. Such, however, is the conceit which the Jew dis- 
plays in regard to his race, that he is very reserved in 
speaking about this " mixing of the blood." I once ad- 
dressed a string of questions to a Christian-Jew preacher, 
on this subject, but he declined answering them. I am in- 
timate with a family the parents of which are half-blood 
Jews, all of whom belong to tlie Jewish connexion, and I 

* It is an unnecessary stretch upon the belief in the Scriptures, to ask 
consent to the abstract proposition that the Jews, while in Egypt, increased 
from seventy souls to " about six hundred thousand on foot tliat were men, 
besides children," at the time of the Exodus. Following a pastoral life, in 
a healthy and fertile country, and inspired with the propliecy delivered to 
Abraham, as to his numberless descendants, the wliole bent of the mind of 
the Jews was to multiply their numbers ; and polyg-amy and concubinage 
being characteristic of the people, there is no reason to doubt that the 
Jews increased to the number stated. The original emigrants, doubtless, 
took with them large establishments of bondmen and bondwomen, and 
purchased others while in Egypt ; and these being ciicumcised, according* 
to the covenant made with Abraham, would sooner or later become, on 
that account alone, part of the nation ; and mucli more so by such amal- 
gamation as is set forth by Rachel and Leah giving their maids to Jacob 
to have children by them. Abraham wa?, at best, the representative head 
of the Jewish nation, composed, as that was originally', of elements drawn 
fron: the idolatrous tribes surroundins; him and his descendants. 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 477 

find that, notwithstanding the mixture of the blood, there is 
as little mental difference between them and the other Jews, 
as there is between Americans of six descents, by both sides 
of the house, and Americans whose descent, through one 
parent, goes as far back, while, through the other parent, it 
is from abroad. Purity of blood, as applicable to almost 
any race, and, among others, to the Jewish, is a figment. 
There are many Jews in the United States, and, doubtless, 
in other countries, who are not known to other people as 
Jews, either by their appearance or their attendance at the 
synagogue. As a general principle, no Jew will tell tlie 
world that he belongs to the race ; he leaves that to be 
found out by other people. Sir J. Gardner Wilkinson says 
that the Jews of the East, to this day, often have red hair 
and blue eyes, and are quite unlike their brethren in Europe. 
He found the large nose at Jerusalem an invariable proof 
of mixture with a Western family. It is singular, however, 
how easy it is to detect the generality of Jews ; the nose, 
the eyes, or the features, tell who they are, but not always 
so. What may be termed a " pure Jew," is when the per- 
son has no knowledge of any other blood being in his veins 
than Jewish blood ; or when his feelings are entirely Jew- 
ish as to nationality, although his creed may not be very 
strongly Jewisli. 

I will now consider the relative positions which the Jews 
and Gipsies occupy towards the rest of mankind. I readily 
admit that, in their original and wild state, the Gipsies have 
not been of any use to the world, but, on the contrary, a 
great annoyance. Still, that cannot be said altogether ; for 
the handy turn of the Gipsies in some of the primitive me- 
chanical arts, and their dealing in various wares, have been, 
in a measure, useful to a certain part of the rural population ; 
and themselves the sources of considerable amusement ; but, 
taking everything into account, they have been decidedly 
annoying to the world generally. In their wild state, they 
have never been charged by any one with an outward con- 
tempt for religion, whatever their inward feelings may liave 
been for it ; but, on the contrary, as always having shown 
an apparent respect for it. No one has ever complained of 
the Gipsy scofiing at religion, or even for not yielding to its 
general truths ; what has been said of him is, that he is, at 
heart, so heedless and volatile in his disposition, that every- 



478 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

thing in regard to religion passes in at the one ear, and goes 
out at the other. There are, doubtless, Gipsies who will be 
" unco godly," when they can make gain by it ; but it more 
frequently happens that they will assume such an air, in the 
presence of a person of respectable appearance, to sliow him 
that they are really not the " horrible vagabonds" wliich, 
they never doubt, he holds them to be. They are then sure 
to overdo their part. As a general thing, they wish people 
to believe that " they are not savages, but have feelings like 
other people," as " Terrible " expressed it. This much is cer- 
tain, that whenever the Gripsy settles, and acquires an incog- 
nito, we hear of little or nothing of the canting in ques- 
tion. As regards the question of religion, it is very fortu- 
nate for the Gipsy race that they brought no particular one 
with them ; for, objectionable as they have been held to be, 
the feeling towards them would have been worse, if they had 
had a system of priestcraft and heathen idolatry among 
them. But this circumstance greatly worries a respectable 
Gipsy ; he would much rather have it said that his ancestors 
had some sort of religion, than that they had none. It is 
generally understood that the Gipsies did not bring any par- 
ticular religion with them ; still, the ceremony of sacrificing 
horses at divorces, and, at one time, at marriages, has a 
strange aud unaccountable significance. 

Then, as regards the general ways of the Gipsies. If we 
consider them as those of a people who have emerged, or 
are emerging, from a state of barbarism, how trifling, how 
venial do they appear ! Scotch people have sufiered, in 
times past, far more at the hands of each other, than ever 
they knowingly did at the hands of the Gipsies. What was 
the nature of that system of black-mail which was levied by 
Highland gentlemen upon Southerners ? Was it anything 
but robbery ? So common, so unavoidable was the payment 
of black-mail, that the law had to wink at it, nay, regulate 
it. But after all, it was nothing but compounding for that 
which would otherwise have been stolen. It gave peace 
and security to the farmer, and a revenue to the Highland 
gentleman, whom it placed in the position of a nominal pro- 
tector, but actually prevented from being a robber, in law or 
morals ; for, let the payment of the black-mail but have been 
refused, and, perhaps the next day, the Southerner would 
have been ruined ; so that the Highland gentleman would 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 479 

liave obtained his rights, under any circumstances. For 
Highland people, by a process of reasoning peculiar to a 
people in a barbarous state, held, as we have seen, that they 
had a right to rob the Lowlanders, whenever it was in their 
power, and that two hundred years after the Gipsies entered 
Scotland. 

Scottish Gipsies are British subjects, as much as either 
Highland or Lowland Scots ; their being of foreign origin 
does not alter the case ; and they are entitled to have that 
justice meted out to them that has been accorded to the or- 
dinary natives. They are not a heaven-born race, but they 
certainly found their way into the country, as if they had 
dropped into it out of the clouds. As a race, they have that 
much mystery, originality, and antiquity about them, and 
that inextinguishable sensation of being a branch of the 
same tribe everywhere, that ought to cover a multitude of 
failings connected with their past history. Indeed, what we 
do know of their earliest history is not nearly so barbarous 
as that of our own ; for we must contemplate our own an- 
cestors, at one time, as painted and skin-clad barbarians. 
What we do know, for certainty, of the earliest history of 
the Scottish Gipsies, is contained, more particularly, in the 
Act of 1540 ; and we would naturally say, that, for a people 
in a barbarous state, such is the dignity and majesty, with 
all the roguishness, displayed in the conduct of the Gipsies 
of that period, one could hardly have a better, certainly not 
a more romantic, descent ; provided the person whose de- 
scent it is is to be found amid the ranks of Scots, with 
talents, a character, and a position equal to those of others 
around him. For this reason, it must be said of the race, 
that whenever it shakes itself clear of objectionable habits, 
and follows any kind of ordinary industry, the cause of every 
prejudice against it is gone, or ought to disappear ; for then, 
as I have already said, the Gipsies become ordinary citizens, 
of the Gipsy clan. It then follows, that in passing a fair 
judgment upon the Gipsy race, we ought to establish a prin- 
ciple of progression, and set our minds upon the best speci- 
mens of it, as well as the worst, and not judge of it, solely, 
from the poorest, the most ignorant, or the most barbarous 
part of it."^ 

* Tacitus gives the following glowing account of the destruction of tlie 
Druids, in the island of Anglesey : " On the opposite shore stood the iirit- 



480 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

What shall we say further of the relative positions which 
the Jews and Gipsies occupy towards the rest of the world ? 
In the first place, the Jews entered Europe a civilized, and 
the Gipsies a barbarous, people ; so that, in instituting any 
comparison between them, we should select Gipsies occupying 
positions in life similar to those of the Jews. The settled 
Scottisli Gipsy, we find, appears to the eye of the world as 
a Scotchman, and nothing more. It is the weak position 
which the Gipsy race occupies in the world, as it enters upon 
a settled life, and engages in steady pursuits, that compels it 
to assume an incognito ; for it has nothing to appeal to, as 
regards the past ; no history, except it be acts of legislation 
passed against the race. In looking into a Dictionary or a 
Cyclopaedia, the Gipsy finds his race described as vagabonds, 
always as vagabonds ; and he may be said never to have 
heard a good word spoken of it, during the whole of his life. 
Hence he and his descendants " keep as quiet as pussy," and 
pass from the observation of the world. Besides this, there 
is no prominent feature connected with his race, to bring it 
before the world, such as there is with the Jewish, viz., his- 
tory, church, or literature. A history, the Gipsy, as we see, 
doubtless has ; but anything connected with him, pertaining 
to the church or literature, he holds as a member of ordinary 
society. Still, it would not be incorrect to speak of Gipsy 
literature, as the work of a Gipsy, acquired from the sources 
common to other men ; as we would say of the Jews, relative 
to the literature which they produce under similar circum- 

ons, closely embodied, and prepared for action. Women were seen rushing 
through the ranks in wild disorder ; their apparel funereal ; their hair 
loose to the wind, in their hands flaming torches, and their whole appear- 
ance resembling the frantic rage of the Furies. The Druids were ranged 
in order, with hands uplifted, invoking the gods, and pouring forth horrible 
imprecations. The novelty of the sight struck the Komans with awe and 
terror. They stood in stupid amazement, as if their limbs were benumbed, 
riveted to one spot, a mark for the enemy. The exhortation of the general 
diffused new vigour through the ranks, and the men, by mutual reproaches, 
inflamed each other to deeds of valour. They felt the disgrace of yielding 
to a troop of women, and a band of fanatic priests ; they advanced their 
standards, and rushed on to the attack with impetuous fury. The Britons 
perished in the flames which they themselves had kindled. The island 
fell, and a garrison was established to retain it in subjection. The religious 
groves, dedicated to superstition and barbarous rites, were levelled to the ground. 
In thme recesses, the natives imbrued their altars with the blood of their prison- 
er's, and in the entrails of men explored the will of the gods." — 3Iurphi/s 
IVanslation. 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 481 

stances. As to the Gipsy to whom I have alluded, it may 
be said that it is none of our business whether he is a Gipsy 
or not ; there is certainly no prejudice against him as an 
individual, and there can be none as a Gipsy, except such as 
people may of their own accord conceive for him. Many of 
the Scottish Gipsies whom I have met with are civil enougli, 
sensible enough, decent enough, and liberal and honourable 
enough in their conduct ; decidedly well bred for their po- 
sitions in life, and rather foolish and reckless with their 
means, than misers ; and, generally speaking, what are called 
" good fellows." It is no business of mine to ask them, how 
long it is since, their ancestors left the tent, or, indeed, if 
they even know when that occurred ; and still less, if they 
know when any of them ever did anything that was contrary 
to law. Still, one feels a little irksome in such a Gipsy ^s 
company, until the Gipsy question has been fairly brought 
before the world, and the point settled, that a Gipsy may be 
a gentleman, and that no disparagement is necessarily con- 
nected with the name, considered in itself. Such Scottish 
Gipsies as I have mentioned are decidedly smart, and, Yan- 
kee-like, more adaptable in turning their hands to various 
employments, than the common natives ; and are a fair credit 
to the country they come from, and absolutely a greater than 
many of the native Scotch that are to be met with in the 
New World. Let the name of Gipsy be as much respected, 
in Scotland, as it is now despised, and the community would 
stare to see the civilized Gipsies make their appearance ; 
they would come buzzing out, like bees, emerging even from 
places where a person, not in the secret, never would have 
dreamt of. 

If we consider, in a fair and philosophical manner, the 
origin of these people, we will find many excuses for the 
position which their ancestors have occupied. They were a 
tribe of men wandering upon the face of the earth, over 
which they have spread, as one wave follows and urges on 
?^nother. Those that appeared in Europe seem to have been 
.iiipelled, in their migration, by the same irresistible im- 
pulse ; to say nothing of the circumstances connected with 
their coming in contact with the people whose territories 
they had invaded. No one generation could be rcs])onsible 
for the position in which it found itself placed. In the case 
of John Faw and his company, we find tliat, being on the 
21 



482 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

face of the earth, they had to go somewhere, and invent 
some sort of excuse, to secure a toleration ; and the world 
was bound to yield them a subsistence, of some kind, and in 
some way obtained. As a wandering, barbarous, tented 
tribe, with habits peculiar to itself, and inseparable from its 
very nature, great allowance ought to be made for the time 
necessary for its gradual absorption into settled society. 
That could only be the result of generations, oven if the race 
had not been treated so harshly as it has been, or had such 
a prejudice displayed against it. The difhculties which a 
Gipsy has to encounter in leaving the tent are great, for he 
has been born in that state, and been reared in it. To 
leave his tent forever, and settle in a town, is a greater 
trial to the innate feelings of his nature, than would be the 
change from highly polished metropolitan life to a state 
of solitude, in a society away from everything that had 
hitherto made existence bearable. But the Gipsy will very 
readily leave his tent, temporarily, to visit a town, if it is to 
make money. It is astonishing how strong the circum- 
stances are which bind him to his tent ; even his pride and 
prejudices in being a " wandering Egyptian," will, if it is 
possible to live by the tent, bind him to it. Then, there is 
the prejudice of the world — the objection to receive him into 
any community, and his children into any school — that com- 
monly prevails, and which compels him to sfcal into settled 
life. It has always been so with the Gipsy race. Gipsies 
brought up in the tent have the same difficulties to encounter 
in leaving it to-day, that others had centuries ago. But, 
notwithstanding all that, they are always keeping moving 
out of the tent, and becoming settled and civilized. 

Tented Gipsies will naturally " take bits o' things ;" many 
of them would think one simple if he thouo-ht they would 
not do it ; some of them might e\en feel insulted if he said 
they did not do it. After they leave the tent, and com- 
mence " tramping," they (I do not say all of them) will still 
" take bits o' things." From this stage of their history, th€^ 
keep gradually dropping into unexceptionable habits ; and. 
particularly so if they receive education. But we can very 
readily believe that, independent of every circumstance, there 
will be Gipsies who, in a great measure, always will be 
rogues. The law of necessity exercises a great influence 
over the destiny of the Gipsy race ; their natural increase 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 483 

is such, that, as they progress and develop, they are always 
pushing others out of the sphere which those further ad- 
vanced occupy ; so that it would not pay for all Gipsies to 
be rogues. There is, therefore, no alternative left to the 
Gipsy but to earn his bread like other men. If every Gipsy 
actually "helped himself" to whatever he stood in need of, 
it could hardly be said that the ordinary inhabitants would 
have anything that they could really call their own. Not- 
withstanding the manner how the Gipsies progress, or the 
origin from which they spring, it is quite sufficient for me to 
hold the race in respect, when I find them personally worthy 
of it. 

As a Scotchman, as a citizen of the world, whether should 
my sympathies go more with the Gipsies than with the 
Jews? With the Gipsies, unquestionably. For, a race, 
emerging from a state of barbarism, and struggling upwards 
to civilization, surrounded by so many difficulties, as is the 
Gipsy, is entitled to a world of charity and encouragement. 
Of the Jews, who, though blessed with the most exalted 
privileges, yet allowed themselves to be reduced to their 
present fallen and degraded estate, it may be said : 
" Ephraim is joined to his idols ; let him alone." The 
Gipsies are, and have always been, a rising people, although 
the world may be said to have known little of them hitherto. 
The Gipsy, as he emerges from his wild state, makes ample 
amends for his original ofi'cnsiveness, by hiding everything 
relative to his being a Gipsy from his neighbours around 
him. In approaching one of this class, we should be careful 
not to express that prejudice for him as a Gipsy, which we 
might have for him as a man ; for it is natural enough to 
feel a dislike for many people whom we meet with, and 
which, if the people were Gipsies, we might insensibly allow 
to fall upon them, on account of tribe alone ; so difficult is 
it to shake one's self clear of the prejudice of caste towards 
the Gipsy name. The Gipsy has naturally a happy disposi- 
tion, which circumstances cannot destroy, however much 
they may be calculated to sour it. In their original state, 
they are, what Grcllmann says of them, " always merry and 
blithe ;" not apt to be surly dogs, unless made such ; and 
are capable of considerable attachment, wlien treated civilly 
and kindly, witliout any attempt being made to commiserate 
them, and after an acquaintance has been fairly established 



484 DISQUISITION ON TEE GIPSIES. 

with them. But, what are properly called their affections 
must, in the position which they occupy, always remain with 
their tribe. As for the other part of the race — those whose 
habits are unexceptionable — it is for us to convince them 
that no prejudice is entertained for them on account of their 
being Gipsies ; but that it would rather be pleasing and in- 
teresting for us to know something of them as Gipsies, that 
is, about their feelings as Gipsies, and hear them tnlk some 
of this language which they have, or ai^e supposed to have. 

But how different is the position which the Jews occupy 
towards the rest of the world ! They are, certainly, quiet 
and inoffensive enough as individuals, or as a community ; 
whence, then, arises the dislike which most people have for 
them ? The Gipsies may be said to be, in a sense, strangers 
amongst us, because they have never been acknowledged by 
us ; but the Jews are, to a certain extent, strangers under 
any circumstances, and, more or less, look to entering Pales- 
tine at some day, it may be this year, or the following. If 
a Christian asks : " Who are the Jews, and what do they 
here ?" the reply is very plain : " They are rebels against 
the Majesty of Heaven, and outcasts from His presence.*' 
They are certainly entitled to every privilege, social and 
political, which other citizens enjoy ; they have a perfect 
right to follow their own religion ; but other people have 
an equal right to express their opinion in regard to it and 
them. 

The Jew is an enigma to the world, unless looked at 
through the light of the Old and New Testaments. In 
studying the history of the Jews, we will find very little 
about them, as a nation, that is interesting, to the extent of 
securing our affections, whatever may be said of some of the 
members of it. What appears attractive, and, I may say, 
of personal importance, to the Christian, in tlieir history, is, 
not what they have been or done, but what has been done 
for them by God. " What more could I have done for my 
vine than I have done ?" And " Which of the prophets have 
they not persecuted ?" " Wherefore, behold ! I send unto 
you prophets, and wise men, and scribes ; and some of them 
ye shall kill and crucify ; and some of them shall ye scourge 
in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city." And 
thus it always was. " Eiias saith of them, Lord, they have 
killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars, and I am 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 485 

left alone, and they seek my life." Indeed, the whole his- 
tory of the Jews has given to infidels such occasion to rail 
at revelation, as has caused no little annoyance to Chris- 
tians. What concerns the Christian in the Jewish history 
is more particularly that which refers to the ways of God, 
in preserving to Himself, in every generation, a seed who 
did not bow the knee to Baal, till the appearance of Him in 
whom all the nations of mankind were to be blessed. Be- 
yond this, we find that the Jews, as a nation, have been the 
most rebellious, stifi-necked, perverse, ungrateful, and fac- 
tious, of any recorded in history. How different from what 
might have been expected of them ! Viewing the history 
of the Jews in this aspect, the mind even finds a relief in 
turning to profane history ; but viewing their writings as 
the records of the dispensations of God to mankind, and 
they are worthy of universal reverence ; although the 
most interesting part of them is, perhaps, that which reaches 
to the settlement of the race in Palestine. And to sum up, 
to complete, and crown the history of this singularly privi- 
leged people, previous to the destruction of their city and 
temple, and their dispersion among the nations, we find that 
the prophet whom Moses foretold them would be raised up 
to them, they wickedly crucified and slew ; " delivering up 
and denying him in the presence of Pilate, when he was 
determined to let him go. But they denied the Holy One 
and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto 
them ; and killed the Prince of Life, wliomGod hath raised 
from the dead." And Pilate " washed his hands before the 
multitude, sayin^:, I am innocent of the blood of this just 
person : see ye to it. Then answered all the people, and 
said, His blood be on us and on our children." And his blood 
is on their children at the present day ; for while he is 
acknowledged by three hundred millions of mankind as 
their Lord and Master, the Jew teaches his children to 
regard him as an impostor, and sf)it at the very mention of 
liis name. How great must be the infatuation of the poor 
Jew, how dark the mind, how thick the veil that hangs 
over his heart, how terrible the curse that rests upon his 
head ! But the Jew is to bo pitied, not distressed ; he 
should be personally treated, in ordinary life, as his conduct 
merits. 

The manner in which the Jew treats the claims of Jesus 



486 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

Christ disqualifies him for receiving the respect of the 
Christian. He knows well that Christianity is no prodnc- 
tion of any Gentile, but an emanation from people of his 
own nation. And so conceited is the Jew in this respect, 
that he will say : " Jesus Christ and his apostles were Jews ; 
see what Jews have done !" He regards the existence 
of his race as a miracle, yet looks with indifference upon 
the history and results of Christianity. People have often 
wondered that Jews, as Jews, have written so little on the 
inspiration of the Old Testament ; but what else could have 
been expected of them ? How could they throw themselves 
prominently forward, in urging the claims of Moses, who 
was "faithful in all his house as a servant," and totally 
ignore those of Christ, who was " a son over his own 
house ?'' So far from even entertaining the claims of the 
latter, the Jew proper has the most bitter hatred for the 
very mention of his name ; he would almost, if he dared, 
tear out part of his Scriptures, in which the Messiah is 
alluded to. Does he take the trouble to give the claims of 
Christianity the slightest consideration ? He will spit at 
it, but it is into his handkerchief ; so much does he feel tied 
up in the position which he occupies in the world. He 
cannot say that he respects, or can respect, Christianity, 
whatever he may think of its morals ; for, as a Jew, he 
must, and does, regard it as an imposture, and blindly so 
regards it. But all Jews are not of this description ; for 
there are many of them who believe little in Moses or any 
other, or give themselves the least trouble about such mat- 
ters. 

The position which Jews occupy among Christians is 
that which they occupy among people of a different faith. 
They become obnoxious to people everywhere ; for that 
which is so foreign in its origin, so exclusive in its habits 
and relations, and so conceited and antagonistic in its 
creed, will always be so, go where it may. Besides, they 
will not even eat what others have slain ; and hold other 
people as impure. The very conservative nature of their 
creed is, to a certain extent, against them ; were it aggres- 
sive, like the Christian's, with a genius to embrace alt 
within its fold, it would not stir up, or permanently retain, 
the same ill-will toward the people who profess it ; for 
being of that nature which retires into the corner of selfish 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES 487 

exclusiveness, people will naturally take a greater objection 
to them. Then, the keen, money-making, and accumulating 
habits of the Jews, make them appear selfish to tliose around 
them ; while the greediness, and utter want of principle, 
that characterize some of them, have given a bad reputation 
to the whole body, however unjustly it is applied to them 
as a race. 

The circumstances attending the Jews' entry into any 
country, to-day, are substantially what they were before the 
advent of Christ ; centuries before which era, they were 
scattered, in great numbers, over most part of tlie world ; 
having synagogues, and visiting, or looking to, Jerusalem, 
as their home, as Catholics, in the matter of religion, have 
looked to Rome. In going abroad, Jews would as little 
contemplate forsaking their own religion, and worshipping 
the gods of the heathen, as do Christians, to-day, in 
Oriental countries ; for they were as thoroughly persuaded 
that their religion was divine, and all others the inventions 
of man, as are Cliristians of theirs. Then, it was a religion 
exclusively Jewish, that is, the people following it were, 
with some exceptions, exclusively Jews by nation. The 
ill-will which all these circumstances, and the very appear- 
ance of the people themselves, have raised against the Jews, 
and the persecutions, of various kinds, wliich have univer- 
sally followed, have widened the separation between them 
and other people, which the genius of their religion made so 
imperative, and their feelings of nationality — nay, family — 
so exclusive. Before the dispersion, Palestine was their 
home ; after the dispersion, the position and circumstances 
of those abroad at the time underwent no change ; they 
would merely contemplate their nation in a new aspect — 
that of exil(?s, and consider themselves, for the time being, 
at home wherever they happened to be. Those that Avere 
scattered abroad, by the destruction of Jerusalem, would, 
in their persons, confirm the convictions of the others, and 
reconcile tliem to the idea that tlie Jewish nation, as sucli, 
was abroad on tlie face of the earth ; and each genei-ation 
of the race would entertain the same sentiments. After this, 
as before it, it can scarcely be said that the Jews have ever 
been tolerated ; if not actually persecuted, they have, at 
least, always been disliked or despised. The wliolc nation 
having been scattered abroad, with everything pertaining 



488 msqUISITION ON THE GIPSIES, 

to them as a nation, excepting the temple, the high-priest- 
hood, and the sacrifices, with such an ancient history, and 
so unequivocally divine a religion, so distinct from, and ob- 
noxious to, those of other nations, it is no wonder that they, 
the common descendants of Abraham and Sarah, should 
have ever since remained a distinct people in the world ; as 
all the circumstances surrounding them have universally 
remained the same till to-day. 

A Jew of to-day has a much greater aversion to forsake 
the Jewish community than any other man has to renounce 
his country ; and his associations of nationality are mani- 
fested wherever a Jewish society is to be found, or wherever 
he can meet with another Jew. This is the view which he 
takes of his race, as something distinct from his religion ; 
for he contemplates himself as being of that people — of the 
same blood, features, and feelings, all children of Abraham 
and Sarah — that are to be found everywhere ; that part of it 
to which he has an aversion being only such as apostatize 
from his religion, and more particularly such as embrace 
the Christian faith. In speaking of Jews, we are too apt 
to confine our ideas exclusively to a creed, forgetting that 
Jews are a race ; and that Christian Jews are Jews as well 
as Jewish Jews. Were it possible to bring about a refor- 
mation among the Jews, by which synagogues would em- 
brace the Christian faith, we would see Jewish Christian 
churches ; the only difi'erence being, that they would believe 
in Him whom their fathers pierced, and lay aside only such 
of the ceremonies of Moses as the Gospel had abrogated. 
If a movement of that kind were once fairly afoot, by which 
was presented to the Jew, his people as a community, how- 
ever small it might be, there would be a great chance of 
his becoming a Christian, in one sense or other : he could 
then assume the position of a protesting Jew, holding the 
rest of his countrymen in error ; and his own Christian- 
Jewish community as representing his race, as it ought to 
exist. 

At present, the few Christian Jews find no others of their 
race with whom to form associations as a community ; so 
that, to all intents and purposes, they feel as if they were a 
sort of outcasts, despised and hated by those of their own 
race, and separated from the other inhabitants by a natural 
law, over which neither have any control, however much 



BISqmSITION ON TEE GIPSIES, 489 

they may associate with, and rospect, each otlier. It re- 
quires a very powerful moral influence to constrain a Jew 
in embracing the Cliristian faith — almost nothing short of 
divine grace ; and sometimes a very powerful iminoral one 
in professing it — that which peculiarly characterizes Jews — 
the love of money. Were a community of Christian Jews 
firmly established, among wliom were observed every tittle 
of the Jewish ceremonial, excepting such as the dispensation 
of Christ had positively abolished ; or even observing most 
of that, (circumcision, for example,) as merely characteristic 
of a people, without attach'ng to it the meaning of a service 
recommending themselves, in anyway, to the mercy of God ; 
and many Jews would doubtless join such a society. Tliey 
could believe in Christ as their Messiah — as tlieir prophet, 
priest, and king ; receive baptism in His name ; and depend 
on Him for a place of happiness in a future state of existence. 
To such, the injunction, as declared by St. Paul, is : " If 
th.ou shalt confess with tliy mouth the Lord Jesus, andshalt 
believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the 
dead, thou shalt be saved." (Romans x. 9.) And when they 
contemplate death, they might lay their heads down in 
peace, with the furtlier assurance, as also declared by St. 
Paul: "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, 
even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with 
him." (I Thess. iv. 14.) This is the kind of Messiah which 
the Jew should contemplate, and seek after. He will find 
his conception and birth more particularly recorded in the 
two first, and his death, resurrection, and ascension, more 
fully detailed in the two last, chapters of the Gospel accord- 
ing to St. Luke. A person would naturally tliink that a 
Jew would have the natural curiosity to read this wonderful 
book called the " New Testament ;" since, at its very lowest 
estimate, it is, with the exception of the writings of St. 
Luke, altogether a production of people of his own nation. 
Among the Jews, there are not a few who believe in Christ, 
yet, more or less, appear at the synagogue. They have no 
objections to become " spectacles to angels ;" but they are 
not willing to make themselves such to men, by })lacing 
themselves in that isolated position which a public profes- 
sion of Christianity would necessarily lead to. Hut, all 
things considered, one is rather apt to fall into Utopian 
ideas in speaking of the conversion of Jews, as a body, or 
21* 



490 DISQUISITION' ON TEE GIPSIES. 

even as individuals, unless the grace of God, in an especial 
degree, accompanies the means to that end. 

It is no elevated regard for the laws of Moses, or any 
exalted sense of the principles contained in the Old Testa- 
ment, that leads a Jew to lend a deaf ear to the claims of 
Christianity ; for his respect for them has always been in- 
different, even contemptible, enough. Indeed, the Talmud, 
which is the Jew's gospel, may be characterized as being, in 
a very great part, a tissue of that which is silly and puerile, 
obscene and blasphemous. It is with the Jew now, as it was 
at the advent of Christ. " They have paid tithe of mint, 
and anise, and cummin, and omitted the weightier matters 
of the law — judgment, mercy, and faith." " Laying aside 
the commandment of God, they have held the tradition of 
men, as the washing of pots and cups, and many other such- 
like things ;" '* making the word of God of none effect 
through their traditions which they have delivered." " Full 
well have they rejected the commandments of God, that they 
might keep their own traditions." " In vain do they wor- 
ship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.'' 
The main prop of a Jew for remaining a Jew, in regard to 
religion, rests much more upon the wonderful phenomena 
connected with the history of his nation — its antiquity, its 
associations, its universality, and the length of time which it 
has existed, since its dispersion, distinct from the rest of the 
world, and so unique, (as he imagines,) that he at once con- 
cludes it must have the special approbation of God for the 
position which it occupies ; which is very true, although it 
proceeds from a different motive than that which the Jew so 
vainly imagines. The Jew imagines that God approves of 
his conduct, in his stubborn rebellion to the claims of 
Christianity, because he finds his race existing so distinct 
from the rest of the world ; whereas, if he studies his own 
Scriptures, he will see that the condition of his race is the 
punishment due to its rebellion. Who knows but that the 
mark which is to be found upon the Jew answers, in a sense, 
the purpose of that which every one found upon Cain ? Did 
not his ancestors call a solemn imprecation upon liis head, 
when they compelled Pilate to crucify the "just person," 
when he was determined to let him go ; with no othei* ex- 
cuse than, " His blood be on us, and on our children ?" Will 
any genuine Jew repudiate the conduct of his ancestors, and 



DISQUISITION ON TUB GIPSIES. 491 

say tliat Christ was not an impostor, that he was not a 
blasphemer, and that, consequently, he did not deserve, oy 
the law of his nation, to be put to deatli ? 

The history of the Jews acts as a spell upon the unfor- 
tunate Jew, and proves the greatest bar to his conversion 
to Christianity. He vainly imagines that his race stands 
out from among all the races of mankind, by a miracle, 
wrought for that purpose, and with the special approbation 
of God upon it, for adhering to its religion ; and that, tliere- 
fore, Christianity is a delusion. But we must break this 
spell that enchants the Jew, and " provoke him to jealousy 
by them that are no people.^' And who are this people ? 
The Gipsies ? Yes, the Gipsies ! For they are numerous, 
though not as numerous, and ancient, though not as ancient, as 
the Jews.* 

As to the Gipsy population, scattered over the world, I 
think that the intelligent reader will agree with me, after 
all that has been said, in estimating it as very large. There 
seems no reason for thinking that the Gipsies suffered so 
greatly, by the laws passed against tJiem, as people have 
imagined ; for the cunning of the Gipsy, and the wild, or 
partly uncultivated, face of all the countries of Europe 
would afford him many facilities to evade the laws passed 
against him. We have already seen what continental 
writers have said of the race, relative to the laws passed 
against it : " But, instead of passing the boundaries, they 
only slunk into hiding places, and, sliortly after, appeared in 
as great numbers as before." And tliis seems to have been 
invariably the case over the whole of Europe. Mr. Borrow, 
as WQ have already seen, speaks of every Spanish monarch, 
on succeeding to the crown, passing laws against tlie Gipsies. 
If former laws were put in force, there would be no occa- 
sion for making so many new ones ; tlie very fact of so many 
laws having been passed against the Gipsy race, in Spain, is 

* It would almost seem that the Gipsies are the people mentioned in Dent, 
xxxii. 21, and Rom. x. 19, where it is said: "I will provoke yon, (the 
Jews.) to jealousy, by them that are no peoj)k', and by a foolish nation I 
will anger you." For the histor}' of the ('ipsy nation thoroug-hly bur- 
lesques that of the Jews. But the Jews will be rcrj' apt to i(j;norc the ex- 
istence of the present work, should the rest of the world allow them to do 
it. Yet, excepting- the (Jipsies themselves, none are so capable of under- 
standing this subject as th ', Jews, there being so much in it that is applicjv 
ble to themselves. 



492 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

sufficient proof of each individual law never having been 
put to much execution, but rather, as has already been said, 
(page 394,) of its having been customary for every king of 
Spain to issue such against them. It does not appear that 
any force was employed to hunt the Gipsies out of the 
country, but that matters were left to the ordinary local 
authorities, whom the tribe would, in many instances, manage 
to render passive, or beyond whose jurisdiction they would 
remove for the time being. The laws passed against the 
nobility and commonalty of Spain, for protecting the Gip- 
sies, (page 114,) is a very instructive commentary on 
those for the extermination of the body itself. But the case 
most in point is in the Scottish laws passed against tlie 
Gipsies. Upon the passing of the Act of James VI., in 
1609, we find tliat the Gipsies " dispersed themselves in 
certain secret and obscure places of the country" ; and that, 
when the storm was blown over, they " began to take new 
breath and courage, and unite themselves in infamous com- 
panies and societies, under commanders" (page 114). The 
extreme bitterness displayed in Scots acts of parliament 
against the best classes of the population, for protecting 
and entertaining tlie tribe, and, consequently, rendering the 
other acts nugatory, has a very important bearing upon the 
subject. We find that the Gipsies wandered up and down 
France for a hundred years, unmolested ; and tliat, so 
numerous had they become, that, in 1545, the King of 
France entertained the idea of embodying four thousand 
of them, to act as pioneers in taking Boulogne, then in pos> 
session of England. The last notice wliich we have of the 
French Gipsies was that made by Grellmann, when he says : 
" In France, before the Revolution, there were but few, for 
the obvious reason, that every Gipsy who could be appre- 
hended, fell a sacrifice to the police." Grellmann, however, 
had not studied the subject sufficiently deep to account for 
tlie destiny of the race. If they were so very numerous in 
France, in 1545, the natural increase, in whatever position 
in life it might be, must have been very great during the 
following 235 years. I have learned, from the best of 
authority, that there are many Gipsies in Flanders."^ If the 

* This information I obtained from some English Gipsies. Thereafter^ 
the title of the following work came under mj' notice : " Historical Re- 
searches Respecting the Sojourn of the Heathens, or Egyptians, in the 



DISQUISITION' ON THE GIPSIES. 493 

Gipsies in England were estimated at above ten thousand, 
during the early part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, how 
many may they not be now, including those of every kind of 
mixture of blood, character, and position in life ? If there 
is one Gipsy in the British Isles, there cannot be less than a 
quarter of a million, and, possibly, as many as six hundred 
thousand ; and, instead of there being sixty thousand in 
Spain, and constantly decreasing^ {disappearing is the right 
word,) we may safely estimate them at three hundred thou- 
sand. Tlie reader has already been informed of what be- 
comes of all the Gipsies. As a case in point, I may ask, 
who would have imagined that there was such a thing in 
Edinburgh as a factory, filled, not merely with Gipsies, but 
with Irish Gipsies ? The owner of the establishment was 
doubtless a Gipsy ; for how did so many Gipsies come to 
w^ork in it, or how did he happen to know that his workmen 
were all Gipsies, or that even one of them was a Gipsy ? 

E\en to take Grellmann's estimate of the Gipsies in Eu- 
rope, at from 700.000 to 800,000, and the race must be very 
numerous to-day. Since his time, the Negroes in the United 
States have increased from 500,000 to 4,000,000, and this 
much is certain, that Gipsies are, to say the least of it, as 
prolific as Kegroes. The increase in both includes much 
wliite blood added to the respective bodies. Some of the 
Gipsies have, doubtless, been hanged ; but, on the other 
hand, many of the Negroes have been worked to death. 
There is a great difference, however, between the wild, in- 
dependent Gipsy race and the Negroes in the New World. 
I should not suppose that the Gipsy race in Europe and 
America can be less than 4,000,000. It embraces, for cer- 
tainty, as in Scotland, men ranging in character and position 
from a pillar of the Church down to a common tinker.* 

Christians not only flatter but delude tlie Jew, when they 
say that his race is " purity itself ;" they greatly flatter and 

Northern Netherlands. By J. Dirks. Edited by the Provincial Utrecht 
tSociety of Arts and Sciences. Utrecht: 1860. pp. viii. and 160," 

Indeed, the Gipsies are scattered all over Europe, and are to be found in 
the condition described in the present work. 

* There are, probably, r2,()U0,tH)() of Jews in the world. I have seen 
them estimated at from ten to twelve millions. It is impossible to obtain 
anything like a correct number of the Jews, in almost an;/ country, leaving 
out of view the immense immbers scattered over the world, and living even 
in parts unexplored by Europeans. 



494: DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

delude him, when they say that the phenomenon of its ex- 
istence, since the dispersion, is miraculous. There is nothing 
miraculous about it. There is nothing miraculous about the 
perpetuation of Quakerdom ; yet Quakerdom has existed for 
two centuries. Although Quakerdom is but an artificial 
thing, that proceeded out from among common English peo- 
ple, it has somewhat the appearance of being a distinct race, 
among those surrounding it. As such, it appears, at first 
sight, to inexperienced youth, or people who have never seen, 
or perhaps heard, much of Quakers. But how much greater 
is the difference between Jews and Christians, than between 
Quakers and ordinary Englishmen, and Americans ! And 
how much greater the certainty that Jews will keep them- 
selves distinct from Christians, and all others in the world ! 
It must be self-evident to the most unreflecting person, that 
the natural causes which keep Jews separated from other 
people, during one generation, continue to keep tliem distinct 
during every other generation. A miracle, indeed ! We 
must look into the Old and New Testaments for miracles. 
A Jew will naturally delude himself about the existence of 
his race, since the dispersion, being a miracle ; yet not be- 
lieve upon a person, if he were even to rise from the dead ! 
A little consideration of the philosophy of the Jewish ques- 
tion will teach us that, perhaps, the best way for Providence 
to preserve the Jews, as they have existed since their dis- 
persion, would have been merely to leave them alone — leave 
them to their impenitence and unbelief — and take that much 
care of them that is taken of ravens. 

The subject of the Gipsies is a mine which Christians 
should work, so as to countermine and explode the conceit 
of the Jew in the history of his people ; for that, as I have 
already said, is the greatest bar to his conversion to Chris- 
tianity. Still, it is possible that some people may oppose 
the idea that the Gipsies are the " mixed multitude" of the 
Exodus, from some such motive as that which induces others 
not merely to disbelieve, but revile, and even rave at some 
of the clear points of revelation.^ What objection could 

* It is astonishing how superficially some passages of Scripture are in- 
terpreted. There is, for instance, the conduct of Gamaliel, before the Jewish 
council, (Acts v. 17-40.) The adrice given b}^ liim, as a Pharisee, was 
nothing but a piece of specious part}" clap-trap, to discomfit a Sadducee. 
St. Paul, who was brought up at the feet of this Pharisee, and, doubtless, 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 495 

any one advance against the Gipsies being tlie people that 
left Egypt, in the train of the Jews ? Not, certainly, an ob- 
jection as to race ; for tliere must have been many captive 
people, or tribes, introduced into Egypt, from the many 
countries surrounding it. Pharaoh was a czar in his day, 
transplanting people at his pleasure. Of one of his cities it 
was said, 

" That spreads her conquests o'er a thousand states, 
And pours her heroes through a hundred gates : 
Two hundred horsemen, and two hundred cars, 
From each wide portal, issuing to the wars." 

That the " mixed multitude" travelled into India, acquired 
the language of that part of Asia, and, perhaps, modified its 
appearance there, and became the origin of the Gipsy race, 
"we may very safely assume. This mucli is certain, that they 
are not Sudras, but a very ancient tribe, distinct from every 
other in the world. With the exception of the Jews, we 
have no certainty of the origin of any people ; in every 
other case it is conjecture ; even the Hungarians know no- 
thing of their origin ; and it is not wonderful that it sliould 
be the same witli the Gipsies. Everything harmonizes so 
beautifully with the idea that the Gipsies are the " mixed 
multitude " of the Exodus, that it may be admitted by the 
world. Even in the matter of religion, we could imagine 

well versed in the factious tactics of his party, gives a beautiful commentary- 
en tlie action of his old master, when, on being brought before the same 
tribunal, and perceiving that his enemies embraced both parties, he set 
them by the ears, by proclaiming himself a Pharisee, and raising the ques- 
tion, (the "hope and resurrection of the dead,") on which they so bitterly 
disagreed. (Acts xxiii. 6-10.) There was much adroitness displayed by 
the Apostle, in so turning the wrath of his enemies against themselves, after 
having inadvertently reviled the high priest, in their presence, and within 
one of the holy places, in such language as the following: " God shall smite 
thee, thou whited wall : for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and com- 
mandest me to be smitten, contrary to the law." As it was, lie was only 
saved from being " pulled in pieces" by his blood-thirsty persecutors — the 
one sect attacking, and the other defending him — by a company of Roman 
soldiers, dispatched to take him by force from among them. Nothing could 
be more specious than Gamaliel's reasoning, for it could api)ly to almost 
anything, and was well suited to the feelings of a divided atid excited as- 
sembly ; or have less foundation, according to his theory, for the very steps 
which' he advised the people against adopting, for the suppression of Chris- 
tians, were used to dcsti'oy the false Messiahs to whom he referred. And 
yet people quote this recorded clap-trap of an old Pharisee, as an inspii*a« 
tion, for the guidance of private Christians, and Christian magistrates 1 



496 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

Egyptian captives losing a knowledge of their religion, as 
has happened with the Africans in the New World, and, not 
having had another taught them, leaving Egypt under Moses, 
without any religion at all.* After entering India, they 
would, in all probability, become a wandering people, and, 
for a certainty, live aloof from all others. 

While the history of the Jews, since the dispersion, greatly 
illustrates that of the Gipsies, so does the history of the Gip- 
sies greatly illustrate that of the Jews. They greatly re- 
semble each other. Jews shuffle, when they say that the 
only difference between an Englishman and an English Jew, 
is in the matter of creed ; for there is a great difference be- 
tween the two, whatever they may have in common, as men 
born and reared on the same soil. The very appearance of 
the two is palpable proof that they are not of the same race. 
The Jew invariably, and unavoidably, holds his *' nation" to 
-mean the Jewish people, scattered over the world ; and is 
reared in the idea that he is, not only in creed, but in blood, 
distinct from other men ; and that, in blood and creed, he 
is not to amalgamate with them, let him live where he may. 
Indeed, what England is to an Englishman, this universally 
scattered people is to the Jew ; what the history of England 
is to an Englishman, the Bible is to the Jew ; liis nation be- 
ing nowhere in particular, but everywhere, while its ultimate 
destiny he, more or less, believes to be Palestine. Now, an 
Englishman has not only been born an Englishman, but his 
mind has been cast in a mould that makes him an English- 
man ; so that, to persecute him, on the ground of his being 
an Englishman, is to persecute him for that which can never 
be changed. It is precisely so with the Jew. His creed 
does not amount to much, for it is only part of the history 
of his race, or the law of his nation, traced to, and emanat- 
ing from, one God, and Him the true God, as distinguished 
from the gods and lords many of other nations : such is the 
nature of the Jewish theocracy. To persecute a Gipsy, for 
being a Gipsy, would likewise be to persecute him for that 
which he could not help ; for to prevent a person being a 

* Tacitus makes Caius Cassius, in the time of Nero, say : " At present, 
we have in our service whole nations of slaves, the scum of mankind, col- 
lected from all quarters of the globe ; a race of men who bring with them 
foreign rites, and the religion of their country, or, probably, no religion at 
all" — Murphy's Translation. 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 497 

Gipsy, in the most important sense of the word, it would be 
necessary to take liim, when an infant, and rear him entirely 
apart from his own race, so that he should never hear the 
'• wonderful story/' nor have his mind filled with the Gipsy 
electric fluid. An English Gipsy went abroad, very young, 
as a soldier, and was many years from home, without having 
had a Gipsy companion, so that he had almost forgotten 
tliat he was a Gipsy ; but, on his returning home, other Gip- 
sies applied their magnetic battery to him, and gipsyfied 
him over again. A town Gipsy will occasionally send a 
child to a Gipsy hedge-schoolmaster, for the purpose of being 
extra gipsyfied. 

The being a Gipsy, or a Jew, or a Gentile, consists in birth 
and rearing. The three may be born and brought up under 
one general roof, members of their respective nationalities, 
yet all good Christians. But the Jew, by becoming a Chris- 
tian, necessarily cuts himself off from associations with the 
representative part of his nation ; for Jews do not tolerate 
those who forsake the synagogue, and believe in Christ, as 
the Messiah having come ; however much they may respect 
their children, who, though born into the Christian Church, 
and believing in its doctrines, yet maintain the inherent af- 
fection for the associations connected with the race, and 
more especially if they also occupy distinguished positions 
in life. So intolerant, indeed, are Jews of each other, in 
the matter of each choosing his own religion, extending 
sometimes to assassination in some countries, and invariably 
to the cruellest persecutions in families, that they are hardly 
justified in asking, and scarcely merit, toleration for them- 
selves, as a people, from the nations among whom they live. 
The present Disraeli doubtless holds himself to be a Jew, 
let his creed or Christianity be what it may ; if he looks at 
himself in his mirror, he cannot deny it. We have an in- 
stance in the Cappadoce family becoming, and remaining for 
several generations, Christians, then returning to the syna- 
gogue, and, in another generation, joining the Christian 
church. The same vicissitude may attend future generations 
of this family. There should be no great obstacle in the 
way of it being allowed to pass current in the world, like 
any other fact, that a person can be a Jew and, at the samo 
time, a Christian ; as we say that a man can be an English- 
man and a Christian, a McGregor and a Christian, a Gipsy 



498 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

and a Christian, or a Jew and a Christian, even should he 
not know when his ancestors attended the synagogue. 
Christianity was not intended, nor is it capable, to destroy 
the natiouality of Jews, as individuals, or as a nation, any 
more than that of other people. We may even assume that 
a person, having a Jew for one parent, and a Christian for 
another, and professing the Christian faith, and having the 
influences of the Jew exercised over him from his infancy, 
cannot fail, with his blood and, it may be, physiognomy, to 
have feelings peculiar to the Jews ; although he may believe 
them as blind, in the matter of religion, as do other Chris- 
tians. But separate him, after the death of the Jewish 
parent, from all associations with Jews, and he may gradually 
lose those peculiarly Jewish feelings tliat are inseparable 
from a Jewish community, however small it may be. There 
are, then, no circumstances, out of and independent of himself 
and the other members of his family, to constitute him a 
Jew ; and still less can it be so with his children, when they 
marry with ordinary Christians, and never come in intimate 
contact with Jews. The Jewish feeling may be ultimately 
crossed out in this way ; I say ultimately, for it does not 
take place in the first descent, (and that is as far as my per- 
sonal knowledge goes,) even although the mother is an ordi- 
nary Christian, and the children have been brought up ex- 
clusively to follow her religion. 

Cipsydom, however, goes with the individual, and keeps 
itself alive in the family, and the private associations of life, 
let its creed be what it may ; the original cast of mind, 
words, and signs, always remaining with itself. In this re- 
spect, the Gipsy differs from every other man. He cannot 
but know who he is to start life with, nor can he forget it ; 
he has those words and signs within himself which, as he 
moves about in the workl, he finds occasion to use. A Jew 
may boast of the peculiar cast of countenance by which his 
race is generally characterized, and how his nation is kept 
together by a common blood, history, and creed. But the 
phenomenon connected with the history of the Gipsy race is 
more wonderful than that which is connected with the Jew- 
ish ; inasmuch as, let the blood of the Gipsy become as much 
mixed as it may, it always preserves its Gipsy identity ; al- 
tliough it may not have the least outward resemblance to an 
original Gipsv. You cannot crush or cross out the Gipsy 



DISQUISITION ON TUE GIPSIES. 499 

race ; so thoroughly subtle, so thoroughly adaptable, so 
thoroughly capable, is it to evade every weapon that can be 
forged against it. The Gipsy soul, in whatever condition it 
may be found, or whatever may be the tabernacle which it 
may inhabit, is as independent, now, of those laws which 
regulate the disappearance of certain races among others, 
as when it existed in its wild state, roaming over the heath. 
The Gipsy race, in short, absorbs, but cannot be absorbed by, 
other races. 

In my associations with Gipsies and Jews, I find that both 
races rest upon the same basis, viz. : a question of people. 
The response of the one, as to who he is, is that he is a Gipsy ; 
and of the other, that he is a Jew. Each of them has a 
peculiarly original soul, tliat is perfectly diiferent from each 
other, and others around them ; a soul that passes as natu- 
rally and unavoidably into each succeeding generation of 
the respective races, as does the soul of the English or any 
other race into each succeeding generation. For each con- 
siders his nation as abroad upon the face of the earth ; 
which circumstance will preserve its existence amid all the 
revolutions to whicli ordinary nations are subject. As they 
now exist within, and independent of, the nations among 
whom they live, so will they endure, if these nations wore 
to disappear under the subjection of other nations, or become 
incorporated with them under new names. Many of the 
Gipsies and Jews might perish amid such convulsions, but 
those that survived would constitute the stock of their re- 
spective nations ; while others might migrate from otlier 
countries, and contribute to their numbers. In the case of 
the Gipsy nation, as it gets crossed with common blood, the 
issue shows the same result as does the shaking of the needle 
on the card — it always turns to the pole : that pole, among 
the Gipsies, being a sense of its blood, and a sympatliy with 
the same people in every part of the world. For this rea- 
son, the Gipsy race, like the Jewish, may, witli regard to its 
future, be said to be even eternal. 

The Gipsy soul is fresh and original, not only from its 
recent appearance in Europe, witliout any traditional knowl- 
edge of its existence anywhere else, but from liaving sprung 
from so singular an origin as a tent ; so that the mystery 
that attaches to it, from tlicse causes, and the contemplation 
of the Gipsy, in his original state, to-day, present to tho 



500 DISQUISITION ON TEE GIPSIES. 

Gipsy that fascination for his own historj which the Jew 
finds in the antiquity of his race, and the exalted privileges 
with which it was at one time blessed. The civilized Gipsy 
looks upon his ancestors, as they appeared in Europe gener- 
ally, and Scotland especially, as great men, as heroes who 
scorned the company of anything below a gentleman. And 
he is not much out of the way ; for John Faw, and Towla 
Bailyow, and the others mentioned in the act of 1540, were 
unquestionably heroes of the first water. He pictures to 
himself these men as so many swarthy, slashing heroes, 
dressed in scarlet and green, armed with pistols and broad- 
swords, mounted on blood-horses, with hawks and hounds in 
their train. True to nature, every Gipsy is delighted with 
his descent, no matter what other people, in their ignorance 
of the subject, may think of it, or what their prejudices may 
be in regard to it. One of the principal differences to be 
drawn between the history of the Gipsies and that of the 
Jews, is, as I have already stated, that the Jews left Pales- 
tine a civilized people, while the Gipsies entered Europe, in 
the beginning of the fifteenth century, in a barbarous state. 
But the difference is only of a relative nature ; for when 
the Gipsies emerge from their original condition, they occu- 
py as good positions in the world as the Jews ; while they 
have about them none of those outward peculiarities of the 
Jews, that make them, in a manner, offensive to other people. 
In every sense but that of belonging to the Gipsy tribe, 
they are ordinary natives ; for the circumstances that have 
formed the characters of the ordinary natives have formed 
theirs. Besides this, there is a degree of dignity about the 
general bearing of such people, rough as it sometimes is, 
that plainly shows that they are no common fellows, at least 
that they do not hold themselves to be such. For it is to be 
remarked, that such people do not directly apply to them- 
selves the prejudice which exists towards what the world 
understands to be Gipsies ; however much they may infer 
that such would be directed against them, should the world 
discover that they belonged to the tribe. In this respect, 
they differ from Jews, all of whom apply to themselves the 
prejudice of tlie rest of their species ; which exercises so 
depressing an influence upon the character of a people. In- 
deed, one will naturally look for certain general superior 
points of character in a man who has fairly emerged from a 



DISQUISITION' ON THE GIPSIES. 501 

wild and barbarous state, which he will not be so apt to find 
in another who has fallen from a liigher position in the scale 
of nations, which the Jew has unquestionably done. A Jew, 
no matter what he thinks of the long-gone-by history of his 
race, looks upon it, now, as a fallen people ; wliile the Gipsy 
has that subdued but, at heart, consequential, extravagance 
of ideas, springing from the wild independence and vanity 
of his ancestors, which frequently finds a vent in a lavish 
and foolish expenditure, so as not to be beliind others in his 
liberality. A very good idea of such a cast of character 
may be formed from that of the superior class of Gipsies 
mentioned by our author, when the descendants of such 
have been brought up under more favourable circumstances, 
and enjoyed all the advantages of the ordinary natives of 
the country. 

In considering the phenomenon of the existence of the 
Jews since the dispersion, I am not inclined to place it on 
any other basis than I would that of the Gipsies ; for,. with 
both, it is substantially a question of people. They are a 
people, scattered over the world, like the Gipsies, and have 
a history — the Bible, which contains both their history 
and their laws ; and these two contain their religion. It 
would, perhaps, be more correct to say, that the religion 
of the Jews is to be found in the Talmud, and the other 
human compositions, for which the race have such a super- 
stitious reverence ; and even these are taken as interpreted 
by the Rabbis. A Jew has, properly speaking, little of a 
creed. He believes in the existence of God, and in Moses, 
his prophet, and observes certain parts of the ceremonial 
law, and some holidays, commemorative of events in the 
history of his people. He is a Jew, in the first place, as a 
simple matter of fact, and, as he grows up, he is made ac- 
quainted with tlie history of his race, to which he becomes 
strongly attached. He then holds himself to be one of the 
" first-born of the Lord," one of the " chosen of the Eternal," 
one of the " Lord's aristocracy ;" expressions of amazing 
import, in his worldly mind, that will lead him to almost 
die for his faith ; while his religion is of a very low natural 
order, " standing only in meats and drinks, and divers wash- 
ings, and carnal ordinances," suitable for a people in a state 
of pupilage. The Jewish mind, in the matter of religion, is, 
in some respects, preeminently gross and material in its 



502 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

nature ; its idea of a Messiah rising no higher than a con- 
queror of its own race, who will bring the whole world 
under his sway, and parcel out, among his fellow-Jews, a 
lion's share of the spoils, consisting of such things as the 
inferior part of human nature so much craves for. And his 
ideas of how this Messiah is to be connected with the ori- 
ginal tribes, as mentioned in the prophecies, are childish 
and superstitious in the extreme. Writers do, therefore, 
greatly err, when they say, that it is only a thin partition 
that separates Judaism from Christianity. There is almost 
as great a difference between the two, as there is between 
that which is material and that which is spiritual. A Jew 
is so thoroughly bound, heart and soul, by the spell which 
the phenomena of his race exert upon him, that, humanly 
speaking, it is impossible to make anything of him in the 
matter of Christianity. And herein, in his own way of think- 
ing, consists his peculiar glory. Such being the case with 
Christianity, it is not to be supposed that the Jew would 
forsake his own religion, and, of course, his own people, and 
believe in any religion having an origin in the spontaneous 
and gradual growth of superstition and imposture, modified, 
systematized, adorned, or expanded, by ambitious and 
superior minds, or almost wholly in the conceptions of 
these minds ; having, for a foundation, an instinct — an 
intellectual and emotional want — as common to man, as 
instinct is to the brute creation, for the ends which it has 
to serve. We cannot separate the questions of race and 
belief, when we consider the Jews as a people, however it 
might be with individuals among them. It was as unrea- 
sonable to persecute a Jew, for not giving up his feelings 
as a Jew, and his religion, for the superstitions and impos- 
tures of Rome, as it was to persecute a Gipsy, for not giving 
up his feelings of nationality, and his language, as was spe- 
cially attempted by Charles III., of Spain : for such are in- 
herent in the respective races. The worst that can be said 
of any Gipsy, in the matter of religion, is, when we meet 
with one who admits that all that he really cares for is, 
" to get a good belly-full, and to feel comfortable o' nights." 
Here, we have an original soil to be cultivated ; a soil that 
can be cultivated, if we only go the right way al)out doing it. 
Out of such a man, there is no other spirit to be cast, but 
that of " the world, the flesh, and the devil," before another 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 503 

can take up its habitation in his mind. Bigoted as is the 
Jew against even entertaining the claims of Christ, as tlie 
Messiah, he is very indifferent to the practice, or even tlie 
knowledge, of his own religion, where he is tolerated and 
well-treated, as in the United States of America. Of tlie 
growing-up, or even the grown-up, Jews in that country, 
the ultra-Jewish organ, the " Jewish Messenger," of New 
York, under date the 19th October, 1860, says that, " witli 
the exception of a very few, who are really taught their reli- 
gion, the great majority, we regret to state, know no more 
of their faith than the veriest heathen :" and, I might add, 
practise less of it ; for, as a people, they pay very little 
regard to it, in general, or to the Sabbath, in particular, 
but are characterized as worldly beyond measure ; having 
more to answer for than the Gipsy, whose sole care is " a 
good meal, and a comfortable crib at night."* 

Amid all the obloquy and contempt cast upon his race, 
amid all the persecutions to which it has been exposed, the 
Jew, with his inherent conceit in having Abraham for his 
father, falls back upon the history of his nation, with the 
utmost contempt for everytliing else that is human ; forget- 
ting that there is such a thing as the " first being last." He 
boasts that his race, and his only, is eternal, and that all 
other men get everything from him ! He vainly imagines 
that the Majesty of Heaven should have made his dispensa- 
tions to mankind conditional upon anything so unworthy as 
his race has so frequently shown itself to be. If he has been 
so favoured by God, what can he point to as the fruits of so 
much loving-kindness shown him ? What is his nation 
now, however numerous it may be, but a ruin, and its meni' 
bers, but spectres that haunt it ? And what has brought it 
to its present condition? "Its sins." Doubtless, its sins ; 
but what particular sins ? And how are these sins to be 

* The following extract from " Leaves from the Diary of a Jewish Min- 
ister," published in the above-mentioned journal, on the 4th April, 1862, 
may not be uninteresting to the Christian reader: 

" In our day, the conscience of Israel is seldom troubled ; it is of so elastic 
a character, that, like gutta percha, it stretches and is compressed, accord- 
ing to the desire of its owner. We seldom hear of a troubled conscience. 
. . . . Not that we would assert that our people are without aeon- 
science ; we merely state that we seldom hear of its troubles. It is more 
than probable, that when the latent feeling is aroused on matters of religion, 
and for a moment they have an id<ia that ' their soul is not well,' they take 
a homoeopathic dose of spiritual medicine, and then feel quite convalescent." 



604 DISQUISITION ON TEE GIPSIES. 

put away, seeing that the temple, the high-priesthood, and 
the sacrifices no longer exist? Or what effort, by such 
means as offer, has ever been made to mitigate the wrath 
of God, and prevail upon Him to restore the people to their 
exalted privileges? Or what could they even propose 
doing, to bring about that event ? Questions like these in- 
volve the Jewish mind in a labyrinth of diflSculties, from 
which it cannot extricate itself. The dispersion was not 
only foretold, but the cause of it given. The Scriptures 
declare that the Messiah was to have appeared before the 
destruction of the temple ; and the time of his expected ad- 
vent, according to Jewish traditions, coincided with that 
event. It is eighteen centuries since the destruction of the 
temple, before which the Messiah was to have come ; and 
the Jew still " hopes against hope," and, if it is left to him- 
self, will do so till the day of judgment, for such a Messiah as 
his earthly mind seems to be only capable of contemplating. 
Has he never read the New Testament, and reflected on 
the sufferings of him who was meek and lowly, or on those 
of his disciples, inflicted by his ancestors, for generations, 
when he has come complaining of the sufferings to which 
his race has been exposed ? He is entitled to sympathy, 
for all the cruelties with which his race has been treated ; 
but he could ask it with infinitely greater grace, were he to 
offer any for the sufferings of the early Christians and their 
divine master, or were he, even, to tolerate any of his race 
following him to-day. 

What has the Jew got to say to all this ? He cannot 
now say that his main comfort and support, in his unbelief, 
consists in his contemplating what he vainly calls a miracle, 
wrapt up in the history of his people, since the dispersion. 
That prop and comfort are gone. No, Jew ! the true 
miracle, if miracle there is, is your impenitent unbelief. 
No one asks you to disbelieve in Moses, but, in addition to 
believing in Moses, to believe on him of whom Moses wrote. 
Do you really believe in Moses ? You, doubtless, believe 
after a sort ; you believe in Moses, as any other person be- 
lieves in the history of his own country and people ; but 
your belief in Moses goes little further. You glory in the 
antiquity of your race, and imagine that every other has 
perislied. No, Jew ! the " mixed multitude" which left 
Egypt, under Moses, separated from him, and passed into 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 505 

India, has come up, in these latter times, again to vex you. 
Even it is entering, it may be, pressing, into the Kingdom 
of God, and leaving you out of it. Yes ! the people from 
tiie " hedges and by-ways" are submitting to the authority 
of the true Messiah ; while you, in your infatuated blindness, 
are denying him. 

What may be termed the philosophy of the Gipsies, is 
very simple in itself, when i^e have before us its main points, 
its principles, its bearings, its genius ; and fully appreciated 
the circumstances with which the people are surrounded. 
The most remarkable thing about the subject is, that people 
never should have dreamt of its nature, but, on the con- 
trary, believed that " the Gipsies are gradually disappear- 
ing, and will soon become extinct." The Gipsies have al- 
ways been disappearing, but where do they go to ? Look at 
any tent of Gipsies, when the family are all together, and 
see how prolific they are. What, then, becomes of this in- 
crease ? The present work answers the question. It is a 
subject, however, which I have found some difficulty in get- 
ting people to understand. One cannot see how a person 
can be a Gipsy, " because his father was a respectable man ;" 
another, " because his father was an old soldier ;" and 
another cannot see " how it necessarily follows that a person 
is a Gipsy, for the reason that his parents were Gipsies." 
The idea, as disconnected from the use of a tent, or follow- 
ing a certain kind of life, may be said to be strange to the 
world ; and, on that account, is not very easily impressed on 
the human mind. It would be singular, however, if a Scotch- 
man, after all that has been said, should not be able to 
understand what is meant by the Scottish Gipsy tribe, or 
that it should ever cease to be tliat tribe as it progresses in 
life. In considering the subject, he need not cast about for 
much to look at, for he should exercise his mind, rather tlian 
his eyes, when he approaches it. It is, principally, a mental 
phenomenon, and should, therefore, be judged of by the 
faculties of the mind : for a Gipsy may not differ a whit 
from an ordinary native, in external appearance or charac- 
ter, while, in his mind, he may be as thorough a Gipsy as 
one could well imagine. 

In contemplating tlie subject of the Gipsies, wc should 
have a regard for the facts of the question, and not be led 
by what we might, or miglit not, imagine of it ; for the 
22 



506 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

latter course would be characteristic of people having the 
moral and intellectual traits of cliildren. The race might, 
to a certain extent, be judged analogously, by what we know 
of other races ; but that which is pre-eminently necessary, 
is to judge of it by facts : for facts, in a matter like this, 
take precedence of everything. Even in regard to the 
Gipsy language, broken as it is, people are very apt to say 
that it cannot exist at the present day ; yet the least reflec- 
tion will convince us, that the language which the Gipsies 
use is the remains of that which they brought with them 
into Europe, and not a make-up, to serve their purposes. 
The very genius peculiar to them, as an Oriental people, 
is a sufficient guarantee of this fact ; and the more so from 
their having been so thoroughly separated, by the prejudice 
of caste, from others around them ; which would so naturally 
lead them to use, and retain, their peculiar speech. But 
the use of the Gipsy language is not the only, not even the 
principal, means of maintaining a knowledge of being Gip- 
sies ; perhaps it is altogether unnecessary ; for the mere 
consciousness of the fact of being Gipsies, transmitted from 
generation to generation, and made the basis of marriages, 
and the intimate associations of life, is, in itself, perfectly 
sufficient. The subject of two distinct races, existing upon 
the same soil, is not very familiar to the mind of a British 
subject. To acquire a knowledge of such a phenomenon, 
he should visit certain parts of Europe, or Asia, or ^\irica, 
or the New World. Since all (I may say all) Gipsies hide 
the knowledge of their being Gipsies from the other in- 
habitants, as they leave the tent, it cannot be said that any 
of them really deny themselves, even should they hide them- 
selves from those of their own race. The ultimate test of a 
person being a Gipsy would be for another to catch the in- 
ternal response of his mind to the question put to him as to 
the fact ; or observe the workings of his heart in his con- 
templations of himself. It can hardly be said that any 
Gipsy denies, at heart, the fact of his being a Gipsy, 
(which, indeed, is a contradiction in terms,) let him disguise 
it from others as much as he may. If I could find such 
a man, he would be the only one of his race whom I 
would feel inclined to despise as such. 

From all tliat has been said, the reader can have no diffi- 
culty in believing, with me, as a question beyond doubt, that 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES, 507 

the immortal John Bunjan was a Gipsy of mixed bh^od. 
He was a tinker. And who were the tinkers ? Were there 
any itinerant tinkers in England, before the Gipsies settled 
there? It is doubtful. In all likelihood, articles requiring 
to be tinkered were carried to tlie nearest smithy. The 
Gipsies are all tinkers, either literally, figuratively, or repre- 
sentatively. Ask any English Gipsy, of a certain class, 
what he can do, and, after enumerating several occupations, 
he will add : " I can tinker, of course," although he may 
know little or nothing about it. Tinkering, or travelling- 
smith work, is the Gipsy's representative business, which he 
brought with him into Europe. Even the intelligent and 
respectable Scottish Gipsies speak of themselves as belong- 
ing to the " tinker tribe." The Gipsies in England, as in 
Scotland, divided the country among themselves, under 
representative chiefs, and did not allow any other Gipsies 
to enter upon their walks or beats. Considering that the 
Gipsies in England were estimated at above ten thousand 
during the early part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, we 
ca,n readily believe that they were much more numerous 
during the time of Bunyan. Was there, therefore, a pot or 
a kettle, in the rural parts of England, to be mended, for 
which there was not a Gipsy ready to attend to it ? If a Gipsy 
would not tolerate any of liis own race entering upon his 
district, was he likely to allow any native ? If there were 
native tinkers in England before the Gipsies settled there, 
how soon would the latter, with their organization, drive 
every one from the trade by sheer force I What thing more 
like a Gipsy ? Among the Scotch, we find, at a compara- 
tively recent time, tliat the Gipsies actually murdered a 
native, for infringing upon what they considered one of 
their prerogatives — that of gathering rags through the 
country. 

Lord Macaulay says, with reference to Bunyan : " The 
tinkers then formed a hereditary caste, which was lield in 
no high estimation. They were generally vagrants and pil- 
ferers, and were often confounded with the Gipsies, whom, 
in truth, they nearly resembled." I should like to know on 
what authority his lordship makes such an assertion ; what 
he knows about tlie origin of this " hereditary tinker caste," 
and if it still exists ; and whether lie holds to the ])urity-of- 
Gipsy-blood idea, advanced by the Edinburgh Review and 



608 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

Blackwood's Magazine, but especially the former. How 
would lie account for the existence of a hereditary caste of 
any kind, in England, and that just one — the " tinker caste"? 
There was no calling at that time hereditary in England, 
that I know of ; and yet Bunyan was born a tinker. In 
Scotland, the collier and Salter castes were hereditary, for 
they were in a state of slavery to the owners of these 
works.* But who ever heard of any native occupation, so 
free as tinkering, being hereditary in England, in the seven- 
teenth century ? Was not this " tinker caste," at that time, 
exactly the same that it is now ? If it was then liereditary, 
is it not so still ? If not, by what means has it ceased to 
be hereditary ? The tinkers existed in England, at that time, 
exactly as they do now. And who are they now but mixed 
Gipsies ? It is questionable, very questionable indeed, if we 
will find, in all England, a tinker who is not a Gipsy. The 
class will deny it ; the purer and more original kind of Gip- 
sies will also deny it ; still, they are Gipsies. They are all 
cJiahos, calos, or chals ; but they will play upon the word Gipsy 
in its ideal, purity-of-blood sense, and deny that they are 
Gipsies. We will find in Lavengro two such Gipsies — the 
Flaming Tinman, and Jack Slingsby ; the first, a half-blood, 
(which did not necessarily imply that either parent was 
white ;) and the other, apparently, a very much mixed Gipsy. 
The tinman termed Slingsby a *' mumping villain." Now, 
" mumper," among the English Gipsies, is an expression for 
a Gipsy whose blood is very much mixed. When Mr. Bor- 
row used the word Fetulengro,f Slingsby started, and ex- 
claimed : " Young man, you know a thing or two." I have 
used the same word with English Gipsies, causing the same 
surprise ; on one occasion, I was told : " You must be a 
Scotch Gipsy yourself." " Well," I replied, " I may be as 
good a Gipsy as any of you, for anything you may know." 
*' That may be so," was the answer I got. Then Slingsby 
was very careful to mention to Lavengro that his ivife was 
a white, or Christian, woman ; a thing not necessarily true 
because he asserted it, but it implied that he was difi'erent. 
These are but instances of, I might say, all the English tin- 

* Seepages 111 and 121, 

f Petal, according to Mr. Borrow, means a horse-shoe ; and Petuletigro, 
a lord of the horse-shoe. It is evidently a very high catch-word among 
the English Gipsies. 



DIS^UISITIOJSr ON THE GIPSIES. 509 



kers. Almost every old countrywoman about the Scottish 
Border knows that the Scottish tinkers are Gipsies.* 

* Various of the characters mentioned in Mr. Borrow's " Lavenf^ro," 
and " Romany Rye," are, beyond doubt, Gipsies. Old Fulcher is termed, 
in a derisive manner, by Ursula, "a gorgio and basket-maker." She is one 
of the Hemes ; a family which gorgio and basket-maker Gipsies describe 
as " an ignorant, conceited set, who think nothing of other Gipsies, owing 
to the quality and quantity of their own blood." This is the manner in 
which the more oriajinal and pure and the other kind of English Gipsies 
(^-frequently talk of each other. The latter will deny that they are Gipsies, 
at least hide it from the world ; and, like the same kind of Scottish Gipsies, 
speak of the others, exclusively, as Gipsies. I am acquainted with a fair- 
haired English Gipsy, whose wife, now dead, was a half-breed. " But I 
am not a Gipsy," said he to me, very abruptly, before I had said anything 
that could have induced him to think that i took him for one. He spoke 
Gipsy, like the others. I soon caught him tripping ; for, in speaking of 
the size of Gipsy families, he slipped his foot, and said: " For example, 
there is our family ; there were (so many) of us." There is another Gipsy, 
a neighbour, who passes his wife off to the public as an Irish woman, while 
she is a fair-haired Irish Gipsy. Both, in short, played upon the word 
Gipsy ; for, as regards fullness of blood, they really were not Gipsies. 

The dialogue between the Romany Rye and the Horncastle jockej^ clearly 
shows the Gipsy in the latter, when his attention is directed to the figure 
of the Hungarian. The Romany Rye makes indirect reference to the Gip- 
sies, and the jockey abruptly asks : " Who be they ? Come, don't be 
ashamed, I have occasionally kept qiieerish company myself." ^^Bomany 
chah ! "Whew ! I begin to smell a rat." The remainder of the dialogue, 
and the spree which follows, are perfectly Gipsy througliout, on the part of 
the jockey ; but, like so many of his race, he is evidently ashamed to own 
Inmsolf up to be " one of them." He says, in a way as if he were a 
stranger to the language : '' And what a singular language they have got 1" 
" Do you know anything of it ? " said the Romany Rye. " Only a very few 
words; the}' were always chary in teaching me any." He said he was 
brought up with the gorgio and basket-maker Fulcher, who followed the 
caravan. He is described as dressed in a coat of green, (a favourite Gipsy 
colour,) and as having curly brown or black hair; and he says of Mary 
Fulcher, whom he married: '' She had a fair comjilexion, and nice red hair, 
both of which I liked, being a bit of a black myself." How much this is in 
keeping with the Gipsies, who so frequently speak of each other, in a 
jocular way, as " brown and black rascals !" 

I likewise claim Isopel Berners, in Lavengro, to be a thnmpivg Gipsy 
lass, who travelled the country with her donkey-cart, taking her own part, 
and wapping this one, and wapping that one. It signifies not what her ap- 
pearance was. I liave frequently taken tea, at her house, with a young, 
blue-eyed, English Gi[)sy widow, perfectly English in her ajipcarance, who 
spoke Gipsy freely enough. It did not signify what Isopel said of herself, 
or her relations. How did she come to speak Gipsy? Do Gipsies ^'ac/i 
their language to utraugers, and, more especially, to strange women ? As- 
suredly not. Suppose that Isopel was not a Gipsy, but had married a 
Gipsy, then I could understand how she might have known Gijjsy, and yet 
not have been a Gipsy, except by initiation. But it is utterly improbable 
that she, a strange woman, should have been taught a word of it. 

In England are to be found Gipsies of many occupations ; horse-dealers, 



610 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

The prejudice against the name of Gipsy was apparently 
as great in Bunyan's time as in our own ; and there was, 
evidently, as great a timidity, on the part of mixed, fair- 
haired Gipsies, to own the blood then, as now ; and great 
danger, for then it was hangable to be a Gipsy, by the law 
of Queen Elizabeth, and " felony without benefit of clergy," 
for " any person, being fourteen years, whether natural born 
subject or stranger, who had been seen in the fellowship of 
such persons, or disguised like them, and remained with them 
one month, at once, or at several times." When the name 
of Gipsy, and every association connected with it, were so 
severely proscribed by law, what other name would the 
tribe go under but that of tinkers — their own proper occu- 
pation ? Those only would be called Gipsies whose appear- 
ance indicated the pure, or nearly pure, Gipsy. Although 
there was no necessity, under any circumstances, for Bunyan 
to say that he was a Gipsy, and still less in tlie face of the 
law proscribing, so absolutely, the race, and every one coun- 
tenancing it, he evidently wished the fact to be understood, 
or, I should rather say, took it for granted, that part of the 
public knew of it, when he said : " For my descent, it was, 
as is well known to many, of a low and inconsiderable gen- 
eration ; my father's house being of that rank that is meanest 
and most despised of all the families of the land." Of whom 
does Bunyan speak here, if not of the Gipsies ? He says, of 
all the families of the land. And he adds : " After I had 
been thus for some considerable time, another thought came 

livery stable-keepers, public-house keepers, sometimes grocers and linen- 
drapers ; indeed, almost every occupation from these downwards. I can 
readily enough believe an English Gipsy, when he tells me, that he knows 
of an English squire a Gipsy. To have an English squire a Gipsy, might 
have come about even in this way : Imagine a rollicking or eccentric Eug- 
listh squire taking up with, and marrying, say, a pretty mixed Gipsy bar or 
lady's maid, and the children would be brought up Gipsies, for certainty. 

There are two Gipsies, of the name of B , farmers upon the estate 

of Lord Lister, near Massingham, in the county of Norfolk. They are des- 
cribed as good-sized, handsome men, and swarthy, with long black hair, 
combed over their shoulders. They dress in the old Gips\' stylish fashion, 
with a green cut-away, or Newmarket, coat, yellow leather breeches, but- 
toned to the knee, and top boots, with a Gipsy hat, ruffled breast, and 
turned-down collar. They occupy the position of any natives in society ; 
attend church, take an interest in parish matters, dine witli his lordship's 
other tenants, and compete for prizes at the agricultural shows. They are 
proud of being Gipsies. I have also been told that there are Gipsies in the 
county of Kent, who have hop farms and dairies. 



DISQUISITION ON THE QIPSIES. 511 

into my mind, and that was, whether we, (his family and rel- 
atives,) were of the Israelites or no ? For, finding in the 
Scriptures, that they were once the peculiar people of God, 
thought I, if I were one of this race, (how significant is the 
expression !) my soul must needs be happy. Now, again, I 
found within me a great longing to be resolved about this 
question, but could not tell how I should ; at last, I 
asked my father of it, who told me, No, we, (his fatlier in- 
cluded,) were not."* I have heard the same question put 
by Gipsy lads to their parent, (a very much mixed Gipsy,) 
and it was answered thus : " We must have been among the 
Jews, for some of our ceremonies are like theirs." The best 
commentary that can be passed on the above extracts 
from Bunyan's autobiography, will be found in our author's 
account of his visit to the old Gipsy cliief, whose acquaint- 
ance he made at St. Bos well's fair, and to which tlie reader 
is referred, (pages 309-318.) When did we ever hear of an 
ordinary Englishman taking so much trouble to ascertain 
whether he was a Jeio, or not ? No Englishman, it may be 
safely asserted, ever does that, or has ever done it ; and no 
one in England could have done it, during Bunyan's time, 
but a Gipsy. Bunyan seems to have been more or less ac- 
quainted with the history of the Jews, and how they were 
scattered over the world, though not publicly known to be 
in England, from which country they had been for centuries 
banished. About tlie time in question, the re-admission of 
the Jews was much canvassed in ecclesiastical as well as 
political circles, and ultimately carried, by the exertions of 
Manasseh Ben Israel, of Amsterdam. Under these circum- 
stances, it was very natural for Bunyan to ask himself wheth- 
er he belonged to the Jewish race, since he had evidently 
never seen a Jew ; and that the more especially, as the 
Scottish Gipsies have even believed themselves to be Ethio- 
pians. Such a question is entertained, by the Gipsies, even 

* Bunyan adds : " But, notwithstanding the meanness and inconsiderable- 
ness of my parents, it pleased God to put it into their hearts to j)ut me to 
school, to learn me both to read and write ; the which I also attained, ac- 
cording to the rate of other poor men's children." 

lie does not say, " According to the rate of poor men's children," but of 
" other poor men's children :" a form of expression alwa3-s used bj' the Oip- 
sies when speaking of themselves, as distinguished from others. The lan- 
guage used by Bunj-an, in speaking of his family, was in harmony with 
that of the population at large ; but ho, doubtless, had the feelings peculiar 
to all tlio tribo, with reference to their origin and race. 



512 DISQUISITION ON TEE GIPSIES. 

at the present day ; for they naturally think of the Jews, 
and wonder whether, after all, their race may not, at some 
time, have been connected with them. How trifling it is for 
any one to assert, that Bunyan — a common native of England 
— while in a state of spiritnal excitement, imagined that he 
was a Jew, and that he should, at a mature age, have put 
anything so absurd in his autobiography, and in so grave a 
manner as he did ! 
c/ Southey, in his life of Bunyan, writes : " Wherefore this 
(tinkering^ should have been so mean and despised a calling, 
is not, however, apparent, when it was not followed as a 
vagabond employment, but, as in this case, exercised by one 
who had a settled habitation, and who, mean as his condition 
was, was nevertheless able to put his son to school, in an 
age when very few of the poor were taught . to read and 
write." The fact is, that Bunyan's father had, apparently, 
a town beat, which would give him a settled residence, pre- 
vent him using a tent, and lead him to conform with the 
ways of the ordinary inhabitants ; but, doubtless, he had his 
pass from the chief of the Gipsies for the district. The 
same may be said of John Bunyan himself. 

How little does a late writer in the Dublin University 
Magazine know of the feelings of a mixed Gipsy, like 
Bunyan, when he says : " Did he belong to the Gipsies, we 
have little doubt that he would have dwelt on it, with a sort 
of spiritual exultation ; and that of his having been called 
out of Egypt would have been to him one of the proofs of 
Divine favour. We cannot imagine him suppressing the 
fact, or disguising it." Where is the point in the reviewer's 
remarks ? His remarks have no point. How could the fact 
of a man being a Gipsy be made the grounds of any kind of 
spiritual exultation ? And how could the fact of the tribe 
originating in Egypt be a proof of Divine favour towai'ds 
the individual ? What occasion had Bunyan to mention he 
was a Gipsy ? What purpose would it have served ? How 
would it have advanced his mission as a minister ? Con- 
sidering the prejudice that has always existed against that 
unfortunate word Gipsy, it would have created a sensation 
among all parties, if Bunyan had said that he was a Gipsy. 
*' What I" the people would have asked, " a Gipsy turned 
priest ? We'll have the devil turning priest next !" Con- 
sidering the many enemies which the tinker-bishop had to 



DISQUISITTON ON THE GIPSIES. 513 

contend with, some of wliom cvon sought his life, he would 
have given tliem a pretty occasion of reven,2:ing themselves 
upon him, had he said he was a Gipsy. They would have 
put the law in force, and stretched his neck for liim.^ The 
same writer goes on to say ; " In one passage at least — and 
we think there are more in Bunyan's works — the Gipsies 
are spoken of in such a way as would be most unlikely if 
Bunyan thought he belonged to that class of vagabonds." I 
am not aware as to what the reviewer alludes ; but, should 
Bunyan even have denounced the conduct of tlie Gipsies, in 
the strongest terms imaginable, would that have been other- 
wise than what he did with sinners generally ? Should a 
clergyman denounce the ways and morals of every man of 
his parish, does that make him think less of being a native 
of the parish himself? Should a man even denounce his 
children as vagabonds, docs that prevent him being their 
father ? This writer illustrates what I have said of people 
generally — that they are almost incapable of forming an 
opinion on the Gipsy question, unaided by facts, and the 
bearings of facts, laid before them ; so thoroughly is the 
philosophy of race, as it progresses and develops, unknown 
to the public mind, and so absolute is the prejudice of caste 
against the Gipsy race.f 

* Justice Keeling threatened Bunyan with this fate, even for preaching ; 
for said he : " If you do not submit to go to hear divine service, and leave 
your preaching, you must be banished the realm : And if, after such a day 
as shall be appointed you to be gone, you shall be found in this realm, or 
be found to come over again, without special license from the king, you 
must stretch by the neck for it. I tell you plainly." 

Sir Matthew Hale tells us that, on one occasion, at the Suffolk assizes, no 
less than thirteen Gipsies were executed, under the old Gipsy statutes, a 
few years before the Restoration. 

f Perhaps the following passage is the one alluded to by this writer : " I 
often, when these temptations had been with force upon me. did compare 
myself to the case of such a child, whom some Gipsy haili by force took 
up in her arms, and is carrying from friend and country." Grace abound- 
ing. The use of a simile lilie this confirms the fact that Bunyan belonged 
to the tribe, rather than that he did not ; unless we can imagine that Gip- 
sies, when candid, do not what every other race has done — admit the pecu- 
liarities of theirs, while in a previous and barbarous state of existence. Ilia 
admission confirms a fact generally believed, but sometimes denied, as in 
the case of the writer in Blackwood's Magazine, mentioned at jiage 375. 

Bunyan, doubtless, " dwelt on it with a sort of spiritual exultation," that 
he should have been " called" — not " out of Egypt," but — '• out of the 
tribe," when, possibly, no others of it, to his knowledge, had been so i>riv- 
ileged ; but it was, certainly, " most unlikely" ho would say that " he 
belonged to that class of vagabonds." 

22^ 



614 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

I need hardly say anything further to show that Bunyan 
was a Gipsy. The only circumstance that is wanting to 
complete the evidence, would be for him to have added to his 
account of his descent : " In other words, I am a Gipsy." 
But I have given reasons for such verbal admission being, in 
a measure, impossible. I do not ask for an argument in 
favour of Bunyan not being a Gipsy, but a common Englisli- 
man ; for an argument of that kind, beyond such remarks as 
I have commented on, is impracticable ; but what I ask for is, 
an exposition of the animus of the man who does not wish 
that he should have been a Gipsy ; assuming that a man can 
be met with, who will so far forget what is due to the dig- 
nity of human nature, as to commit himself in any such way. 
That Bunyan was a Gipsy is beyond a doubt. That he is a 
Gipsy, now, in Abraham's bosom, the Christian may readily 
believe. To the genius of a Gipsy and tlie grace of God 
combined, the world is indebted for the noblest production 
that ever proceeded from an uninspired man. Impugn it 
whoso list. 

Of the Pilgrim's Progress, Lord Macaulay, in his happy 
manner, writes : " For magnificence, for pathos, for vehe- 
ment exhortation, for subtle disquisition, for every purpose 
of the poet, the orator, and the divine, this homely dialect — 
the dialect of plain working men — was perfectly sufficient. 
There is no book in our literature on which we would so 
readily stake the fame of the old, unpolluted, English lan- 
guage," as the Pilgrim's Progress ; " no book which shows, 
so well, how rich that language is in its own proper wealth, 
and how little it has been improved by all that it has bor- 
rowed." " Though there were many clever men in England, 
during the latter half of the seventeenth century, there were 
only two great creative minds. One of these minds pro- 
duced the Paradise Lost ; the other, the Pilgrim's Progress" 
— the work of an English tinkering Gipsy. 

It is very singular that religious writers should strive to 
make out that Bunyan was not a Gipsy. If these writers 
really have the glory of God at heart, they should rather 
attempt to prove that he was a member of this race, which 
has been so much despised. For, thereby, the grace of God 
would surely be the more magnified. Have they never 
heard that Jesus Christ came into the world to preach the 
Gospel to the poor, to break the chains of the oppressed, 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 615 

and raise up the bowed-down ? Have they never heard that 
the poor publican who, standing afar off, would not so much 
as lift up his eyes to heaven, but smote his breast, and ex- 
claimed : " God be merciful to me, a sinner," went down 
justified rather than him who gave thanks for his not being 
like other men, or even as that publican ? Have they never 
heard that God hath chosen the foolish things of the world 
to confound the wise ; and the weak things of the world to 
confound the things which are mighty ; and things which 
are despised, yea, and things which are not, to bring to 
naught things that are : that no flesh should glory in his 
presence ? I shall wait, with considerable curiosity, to see 
whether the next editor, or biographer, of this illustrious 
Gipsy will take any notice of the present work ; or whether 
he will dispose of it somewhat in this strain : " One of 
Bunyan's modern reviewers, by a strange mistake, construes 
his self-disparaging admissions to mean that he was the off- 
spring of Gipsies !" 

Sir Walter Scott admits that Bunyan was most probably 
a " Gipsy reclaimed ;" and Mr. Offor, that " his father must 
have been a Gipsy."* But, with these exceptions, I know 
not if any writer upon Bunyan has more than hinted at 
the possibility of even a connexion between him and the Gip- 
sies. It is very easy to account for all this, by the ignorance 
of the world in regard to the Gipsy tribe, but, above all, by 
the extreme prejudice of caste which is entertained against 
it. Does caste exist nowhere but in India ? Does an Eng- 
lishman feel curious to know what caste can mean ? In few 
parts of the world does caste reign so supreme, as it does in 
Great Britain, towards the Gipsy nation. What is it but 
the prejudice of caste that has prevented the world from 
acknowledging Bunyan to have been a Gipsy ? The evidence 
of the fact of his having been a Gipsy is positive enougli. 
Will any one say that he does not believe tliat Bunyan 
meant to convey to the world a knowledge of the fact of 

* It is interesting to notice what these two writers say. If Bunyan'g 
father was a Gipsy, we may reasonably assume that his mother was one 
likewise ; and, consequently, that Bunyan was one himself, or as Sir Wal- 
ter Scott expresses it -a " ('Ipsy reclaimed." A Gijjsy being a question of 
race, and not a matter of habits, it should be received as one of the simplest 
of elementary truths, that once a (Jipsy, always a (iipsy. We naturally 
ask, Why has not the fact of Bunyan having be(!u a Gipsy stood on record, 
for <ihe last twc centuries ? and, echo auswers, Why ? 



510 BISQUISITIOX 0_Y THE GIPSIES. 

his being a Gipsy ? Or that he does not believe that the 
tinkers are Gipsies ? Has any writer on Bunyan ever taken 
the trouble to ascertain who the tinkers really are ; and 
that, in consequence of his investigations, he has come to 
the conclusion that they are not Gipsies ? If no writer on 
the subject of the illustrious dreamer has ever taken that 
trouble, to what must we attribute the fact but the prejudice 
of caste ? It is caste, and nothing but caste. What is it 
but the prejudice of caste tliat has led Lord Macaulay to 
invent his story about the tinkers ? For what he says of the 
tinkers is a pure invention, or, at best, a delusion, on his part. 
What is it but the prejudice of caste that has prevented 
others from saying, plainly, that Bunyan was a Gipsy ? It 
would be more manly if they were to leave Bunyan alone, 
than receive his works, and damn the man, tliat is, his blood. 
It places them on the level of boors, when they allow them- 
selves to be swayed by the prejudices that govern boors. 
When they speak of, or write about, Bunyan, let them exer- 
cise common honesty, and receive both the man and the 
man's works : let them not be guilty of petit larceny, or 
rather, great robbery, in the matter. 

Southey, in his life of Bunyan, writes : " John Bunyan has 
faithfully recorded his own spiritual history. Had he 
dreamed of being 'forever known,' and taking his place 
among those who may be called the immortals of the earth, 
he would probably have introduced more details of his tem- 
poral circumstances, and the events of his life. But, glori- 
ous dreamer as he was, this never entered into his imagina- 
tion."^ Less concerning him than might have been expected 
has been preserved by those of his own sect ; and it is not 
likely that anything more should be recovered from obliv- 
ion." Remarks like these come with a singular grace from 
a man with so many prejudices as Southey. John Bunyan has 
told us as much of his history as he dared to do. It was a 
subject upon which, in some respects, he doubtless main- 
tained a great reserve ; for it cannot be supposed that a 
man occupying so prominent and popular a position, as a 
preacher and writer, and of so singular an origin, should 

* Although Bunyan probably never anticipated being held in high esti- 
mation by what are termed the " great ones " of the earth, yet what Southey 
has said cannot be predicated of him, if we consider the singularity of his 
origin and history, and the popularity which he enjoyed, as author of the 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES, 517 

have had no investigations made into his history, and that 
of his family ; if not by liis friends, at least, by his enemies, 
who seemed to have been capable of doing anything to injure 
and discredit him. But, very proljably, his being a tinker 
was, with friends and enemies, a circumstance so altogether 
discreditable, as to render any investigation of the kind per- 
fectly superfluous. In mentioning that much of himself 
which he did, Bunyan doubtless imagined that the world 
understood, or would have understood, what he meant, and 
would, sooner or later, acknowledge the race to which he 
belonged. And yet it has remained in this unacknowledged 
state for two centuries since his time. How unreasonable 
it is to imagine that Bunyan should have said, in as many 
words, that he was a Gipsy, when the world generally is so 
apt to become fired with indignation, should we now say that 
he was one of the race. How applicable are the words of 
his wife, to Sir Matthew Hale, to the people of the present 
day : " Because he is a tinker, and a poor man, he is de- 
spised, and cannot have justice." 

C' Had Southey exercised that common sense which is the 
inheritance of most of Englishmen, and divested himself of 
this prejudice of caste, which is likewise their inheritance, he 
never could have had any difficulty in forming a proper idea 
of Bunyan, and everything concerning him. And the same 
may be said of any person at the present day. John Bun- 

"'yan was simply a Gipsy of mixed blood, who must have 
spoken the Gipsy language in great purity ; for, considering 

Pilgrim's Progress ; a work affecting the mind of man in every age of tho 
world. Of this work Bunyan writes : 

" My Pilgrim's book has travelled sea and land, 

Yet could I never come to understand 

That it was slighted, or turned out of door, 

By any kingdom, were they rich or poor. 

In France and Flanders, where men kill each other. 

My Pilgrim is esteemed a friend, a brother. 

In Holland, too, 'tis said, as I am told, 

My Pilgrhn is, with some, worth more than gold, 

Highlanders and Wild Irish can ai^rce 

My Pilgrim should familiar with them be. 

'Tis in New England under such advance, 

Receives there so much loving countouanco. 

As to bo trimmed, new clothed, and decked with gems. 

That it may show its features, and its limbs. 

Yet more, so public doth my Pilgrim walk, 

That of him thousands daily sing and talk." 



518 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

the extent to which it is spoken in England, to-day, we can 
well believe that it was very pure two centuries ago, and 
that Bunyan might have written works even in that lan- 
guage. But such is the childish prejudice against the name 
of Gripsy, such the silly incredulity towards the subject, that, 
in Great Britain, and, I am sorry to say, with some people 
in America, one has nearly as much difficulty in persuading 
others to believe in it, as St. Paul had in inducing the 
Greeks to believe in the resurrection of the dead. Why 
seemeth it unto thee incredible that Bunyan was a Gipsy ? 
or that Bunyan's race should now be found in every town, 
in every village, and, perhaps, in every hamlet, in Scotland, 
and in every sphere of life ?'^ 

^ To a candid and unprejudiced person, it should afford a 
relief, in thinking of the immortal dreamer, that he should 
have been a member of this singular race, emerging from a 
state of comparative barbarism, and struggling upwards, 
amid so many difficulties, rather than he should have been 
of the very lowest of our own race ; for in that case, there is 
an originality and dignity connected with him personally, 
that could not well attach to him, in the event of his having 
belonged to the dregs of the common natives. Beyond be- 
ing a Gipsy, it is impossible to say what his pedigree really 
was. His grandfather might have been an ordinary native, 
even of fair birth, who, in a thoughtless moment, might 
have " gone off with the Gipsies f or his ancestor, on the 
native side of the house, might have been one of the " many 
English loiterers " who joined the Gipsies on their arrival 
in England, when they were " esteemed and held in great 
admiration ;" or he might have been a kidnapped infant ; or 
such a "foreign tinker" as is alluded to in the Spanish 
Gipsy edicts, and in the Act of Queen Elizabeth, in which 
mention is made of " strangers," as distinguished from natu- 

* Bunsen writes : " Sound judgment is displayed rather in an aptness 

for believing what is historical, than in a readiness at denying it 

Shallow minds have a decided propensity to fall into the latter error. In- 
capability of believing on evidence is the last form of the intellectual im- 
becility of an enervated age." 

A writer who contributes frequently to " Notes and Queries," after stat- 
ing that he has read the works of Grellmann and Hoyland on the Gipsies, 
adds : " My conclusion is that the tribes have no more right to nationality, 
race, blood, or language, than the London thieves have — with their slan^, 
some words of which may have their origin in the Hebrew, from their 
dealings with the lowest order of Jews." 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 619 

ral born subjects, being with the Gipsies. The last is most 
probable, as the name, Biinyan, would seem to be of foreign 
origin. It is, therefore, very likely, that there was not a 
drop of common English blood in Bunyan's veins. John 
Bunyan belongs to the world at large, and England is only 
entitled to the credit of the formation of his character. Be 
all that as it may, Bunyan's father seems to have been a su- 
perior, and therefore important, man in the tribe, from the 
fact, as Southey says, of his having " put his son to school in 
an age when very few of the poor were taught to read and 
write." 

V. The world never can do justice to Bunyan, unless it takes 
him up as a Gipsy ; nor can the Christian, unless he con- 
siders him as being a Gipsy, in Abraham's bosom. His 
biographers have not, even in one instance, done justice to 
him ; for, while it is altogether out of the question to call 
him the " wicked tinker," the " depraved Bunyan," it is un- 
reasonable to style him a " blackguard," as Southey has done. 
He might have been a. blackguard in that sense in which a 
youth, in a village, is termed a "young blackguard," for 
being the ringleader among the boys ; or on account of his 
wearing a ragged coat, and carrying a hairy wallet on his 
shoulder, which, in a conventional sense, constitute any 
man, in Great Britain, a blackguard. Bunyan's sins were 
confined to swearing, cursing, blaspheming, and lying ; and 
were rather intensely manifested by the impetuosity of his 
character, or vividly described by the sincerity of his piety, 
and the liveliness of his genius, than deeply rooted in 
his nature ; for he shook off the habit of swearing, (and, 
doubtless, that of lying,) on being severely reproved for 
it, by a loose and ungodly woman. Three of the kindred 
vices mentioned, (and, we might add the fourth, lying,) more 
frequently proceed from the influence of bad example and 
habit, than from anything inherently vicious, in a youth 
with so many of the good points which characterized Bunyan. 
His youth was even marked by a tender conscience, and a 
strong moral feeling ; for thus he speaks of himself in 
" Grace Abounding :" " But this I well remember, that 
though I could myself sin, with the greatest delight and 
ease, and also take pleasure in the vileness of my compan- 
ions, yet, even then, if I had, at any time, seen wicked 
things in those who professed goodness, it would make my 



520 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

spirit tremble. As, once above all the rest, when I was 
in the height of vanity, yet hearing one swear that 
was reckoned for a religious man, it had so great a 
stroke upon my spirit, that it made my heart ache." He 
was the subject of these experiences before he was ten 
years of age. It is unnecessary to speak of his dancing, 
ringing bells, and playing at tip-cat and hockey. Now. let 
us see what was Bunyan's moral character. He was not a 
drunkard ; and he says : " I know not whether there be 
such a thing as a woman breathing under the copes of 
heaven, but by their apparel, their children, or by common 
fame, except my wife." And he continues : " Had not a 
miracle of precious grace prevented, I had laid myself open 
even to the stroke of those laws which bring some to dis- 
grace and open shame, before the face of the world." The 
meaning of this is, evidently, that he never stole anything ; 
but that it was " by a miracle of precious grace" he was pre- 
vented from doing it. In what sense, then, was Bunyan a 
blackguard ? There was never such occasion for him to say 
of himself, what John Newton said of himself, as a criminal 
passed him, on the way to the gallows : " There goes John 
Bunyan, but for the grace of God." But such was tlie 
depth of Bunyan's piety, that hardly any one thought and 
spoke more disparagingly of himself than he did ; although 
he would defend himself, with indignation, against unjust 
charges brought against him ; for, however peaceable and 
humble he might be, he would turn most manfully upon his 
enemies, when they baited or badgered him. " It began, 
therefore, to be rumoured, up and down among the people, 
that I was a witch, a Jesuit, a highwayman, and tlie like. 
. . . . I also call those fools and knaves that have 
thus made it anything of their business to affirm any of 
these things aforesaid of me, namely, that I have Ijeen 
naught with other women, or the like. . . . My foes 
have missed their mark in this their sliooting at me. I am 
not the man. I wish that they themselves be guiltless. If 
all the Ibrnicators and adulterers in England were hanged 
up by the neck till they be dead, John Bunyan, the object of 
their envy, would be still alive and well." The style of his 
language even indicated the Gipsy ; for English Gipsies, as 
Mr. Borrow justly remarks, speak the English language 
much better than the natives of the lower classes j for this 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 521 

apparent reason, that they have not the dialect of any par- 
ti,ciilar part of England, which would be, were they always 
to have resided in a particular place. It must have been 
more so before the middle of the seventeenth century, up- 
wards of a hundred years after the arrival of the Gipsies in 
England ; for, in acquiring the English language, they would 
keep clear of many of the rude dialects that so commonly 
prevail in that country. But Bunyan's language was, doubt- 
less, drawn principally from the Scriptures. 

The illustrious pilgrim had many indignities cast upon 
him, by the lower and unthinking classes of the population, 
and by Quakers and strict Baptists. 'Twas a man like 
John Owen who knew how to appreciate and respect him ; 
for, said he to Charles II. : " I would readily part with all 
my learning, could I but preach like the tinker." And 
what was it that supported Bunyan, amid all the abuse and 
obloquy to which he was exposed, as he obeyed the call 
of God, and preached the gospel, in season and out of season, 
to every creature around him? When they sneered at his 
origin, and the occupation from which he had risen, he 
said : " Such insults I freely bind unto me, as an ornament, 
among the rest of my reproaches, till the Lord shall wipe 
them off at his coming." And again : " Tlie poor Christian 
hath something to answer them that reproach him for his 
ignoble pedigree, and shortness of the glory of the wisdom 
of this world. I fear God. This is the highest and most 
noble ; he hath the honour, the life, and glory that is last- 
ing."* 

In Great Britain, the off-scourings of the earth can say 
who they are, and no prejudices are entertained against 

* That the rabble, or " fellows of the baser sort," should have pelted 
Biinyan with all sorts of ofifensive articles, when lie cornmencetl to preach 
the gospel, is what could naturally have been expected ; but it sounds 
strange to read what he has put on record of the abuse heaped upon liiin, 
by people professing to be the servants of Ilim " in whom there is neither 
Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, male nor female." See with what Christian 
humilit3' he alludes to such treatment, as contrasted with the maidy indig- 
nation which he displayed in repelling slanders. lie speaks of " the Loi*d 
wiping off such insults at his coming;" when his enemies, with tlie utmost 
familiarity and assurance, ma}^ aj)pfoach the judgment-seat, and demand 
their crowns. " Lord, Lord, have we not propliosi(Hl in th}' name? and in 
thy name have cast out devils ? and in thy name done many womlerful 
works ?" And it may be answered unto ihcm ; " I never knew you ; de- 
part from me, yc that work iniquit3\" 



622 DISQUISITION ON TEE GIPSIES. 

them. Half-caste Hindoos, Malays, Hottentots, and Negroes, 
are "sent home," to be educated, and made pets of, and 
have the choice of white women given to them for wives ; 
but the children of a Scottish Christian Gipsy gentleman, 
or of a Scottish Christian Gipsy gentlewoman, dare not say 
who they are, were it almost to save their lives. Scottish 
people will wonder at what caste in India can mean, de- 
plore its existence, and pray to God to remove it, that " the 
gospel may have free course and be glorified ;" yet scowl — 
silently and sullenly scowl — at the bare mention of John Bun- 
yan having been a Gipsy ! Scottish religious journals will not 
tolerate the idea to appear in their columns ! To such peo- 
ple I would say, Offer up no more prayers to Almighty God, to 
remove caste from India, until they themselves have removed 
from the land this prejudice of caste, that hangs like an 
incubus upon so many of their fellow-subjects at home. It 
is quite time enough to carry such petitions to the Deity, 
when every Scottish Gipsy can make a return of himself in 
the census, or proclaim himself a Gipsy at the cross, or from 
the house-top, if need be ; or, at least, after steps have been 
taken by the public to that end. But some of my country- 
men may say : " What are we to do, under the circum- 
stances ?" And I reply : " Endeavour to be yourselves, and 
judge of this subject as it ought to be judged. You can, at 
least, try to guard against your children acquiring your 
own prejudices." To the rising town generation, I would 
look with more hope to see a better feeling entertained for 
the name of Gipsy. But I look with more confidence to 
the English than Scottish people ; for this question of " folk" 
is very apt to rankle and fester in the Scottish mind. I 
wish, then, that the British, and more especially the 
Scottish, public should consider itself as cited before the 
bar of the world, and not only the bar of the world, but 
the bar of posterity, to plead on the Gipsy question, that it 
may be seen if this is the only instance in which justice is 
not to be done to a part of the British population. With 
tlie evidence furnished in the present work, I submit the 
name of Bunyan, as a case in point, to test the principle 
at issue. Let British people beware how they approach 
tliis subject, for there are great principles involved in it. 
The social emancipation of the Gipsies is a question which 
British people have to consider for the future. 



mSQVISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 523 

The day is gone by when it cannot be said who John 
Bunyan was. In Cowper's time, his name dare not be men- 
tioned, ' lest it should move a sneer." Let us hope that we 
are living in happier times. Tinkering was Bunyan's occu- 
pation ; his race the Gipsy — a fact that cannot be questioned. 
His having been a Gipsy adds, by contrast, a lustre to his 
name, and reflects an immortality upon his character ; and 
he stands out, from among all the men of the latter half of 
the seventeenth century, in all his solitary grandeur, a mon- 
ument of the grace of God, and a prodigy of genius. Let 
us, then, enroll John Bunyan as the first (that is known to 
the world) of eminent Gipsies, the prince of allegorists, and 
one of the most remarkable of men and Christians. What 
others of this race there may be who have distinguished 
themselves among mankind, are known to God and, it may 
be, some of the Gipsies. The saintly Doctor to whom I have 
alluded was one of this singular people ; and one beyond 
question, for his admission of the fact cannot be denied by 
any one. Any life of John Bunyan, or any edition of his 
works, that does not contain a record of the fact of his 
having been a Gipsy, lacks the most important feature con- 
nected with the man that makes everything relating to him 
personally interesting to mankind. It should even contain 
a short dissertation on the Gipsies, and have, as a frontis- 
piece, a Gipsy's camp, with all its appurtenances. The 
reader may believe that such a thing may be seen, and that, 
perhaps, not before long. 

It strikes me as something very singular, that Mr. Borrow, 
" whose acquaintance with the Gipsy race, in general, dates 
from a very early period of his life f who " has lived more 
with Gipsies than Scotchmen ;" and than whom " no one 
ever enjoyed better opportunities for a close scrutiny of their 
ways and habits," should have told us so little about the 
Gipsies. In all his writings on tlie Gipsies, he alludes to 
two mixed Gipsies only — the Spanish half-pay captain, and 
the English flaming tinman — in a way as if these were the 
merest of accidents, and meant notliing. He lias told us 
nothing of the Gipsies but what was known before, witli 
the exception, as far as my memory serves me, of tlie custom 
of the Spanish Gipsy, dressing lier daughter in sucli a way 
as to protect her virginity ; tlie'existence of the tribe, in a 
civilized state, in Moscow ; and the habit of the members of 



524 DISQUISITION ON TUB GIPSIES. 

the race possessing two names ; all of which are, doubtless, 
interesting pieces of information. The Spanish Gipsy mar- 
riage ceremony was described, long before him, by Dr. 
Bright ; and Twiss, as far back as 1723, bears testimony to 
the virtue of Gipsy females, inasmuch as they were not to 
be procured in any way. Twiss also bears very positive 
testimony on a point to which Mr. Borrow has not alluded, 
viz. : the honesty of Spanish Gipsy innkeepers, in one re- 
spect, at least, that, although he frequently left his linen, 
spoons, <fec., at their mercy, he never lost an article belong- 
ing to him. He alludes, in his travels, to the subject of the 
Gipsies incidentally ; and his testimony is, therefore, worthy 
of every credit, on the points on wliich be speaks. In Mr. 
Sorrow's writings upon the Gipsies, w^e find only sketches 
of certain individuals of the race, whom he seems to have 
fallen in with, and not a proper account of the nation. These 
writings have done more injury to the tribe than, perhaps, 
anything that ever appeared on the subject. I have met 
with Gipsies — respectable young men — w^ho complained bit- 
terly of Mr. Borrow's account of their race ; and tliey did 
that with good reason ; for his attempt at generalization on 
the subject of the people, is as great a curiosity as ever I set 
my eyes upon. How unsatisfactory are Mr. Sorrow's opin- 
ions on the Gipsy question, wlien he speaks of the " deca- 
dence " of the race, when it is only passing from its first stage 
of existence — the tent. This he does in his Appendix to the 
Eomany Rye ; and it is nearly all that can be drawn from 
his writings on the Gipsies, in regard to their future his- 
tory. 

I do not expect to meet among American people, generally, 
with the prejudice against the name of Gipsy that prevails 
in Europe ; for, in Europe, the prejudice is traditional — a 
question of the nursery — while, in America, it is derived, 
for the most part, from novels. American people will, of 
course, form their own opinion upon the tented or any other 
kind of Gipsies, as their behaviour warrants ; but what 
prejudice can they have for tlie Gipsy race as such ? As a 
race, it is, physically, as fine a one as ever came out of xVsia ; 
although, at the present day, it is so much mixed with the 
white blood, as liardly to be observable in many, and abso- 
lutely not so in others, who follow the ordinary vocations of 
other men. What prejudice can Americans have against 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 525 

Gipsy blood as such ? What prejudice can they have to the 
Maryland farmers who have been settled, for at least two gen- 
erations, near Annapolis, merely because they are Gipsies and 
speak Gipsy ? If there is any people in the world who might 
be expected to view the subject of the Gipsies dispassionately, 
it ought to be the people of America ; for surely they have 
prejudices enough in regard to race ; prejudices, the object 
of which is independent of character or condition — some- 
thing that stares them in the face, and cannot be got rid of. 
If they have the practical sagacity to perceive the bearings 
of the Gipsy question, they should at once take it up, and 
treat it in the manner which the age demands. They have 
certainly an opportunity of stealing a march upon English 
people in this matter. 

Part of what I have said in reference to Bunyan, I was de- 
sirous of having inserted in a respectable American relig- 
ious journal, but I did not succeed in it. " It would take up 
too much room in the paper, and give rise to more discus- 
sion than they could afford to print." — " Perhaps you would 
not wish it to be said that John Bunyan was a Gipsy ?" — " Oh, 
not at all," replied the editor, colouring up a little. I found 
that several of these papers devoted a pretty fair portion 
of their space to such articles as funny monkey stories, and 
descriptions of rat-trap and cow- tail-holder patents ; but for 
anything of so very little importance as that which referred 
to John Bunyan, they could afford no room whatever. Who 
cared to know who John Bunyan was ? Wliat purpose could 
it serve ? Who would be benefited by it ? But funny mon- 
key stories are pleasant reading ; every housewife should 
know how to keep down her rats ; and every farmer should 
be taught how to keep his cows' tails from whisking their 
milk in his face, while it is being drawn into the pail. Not 
succeeding with the religious papers, I found expression to 
my sentiments in one of the " ungodly weeklies," which de- 
vote their columns to rats, monkeys, and cows, and a little 
to mankind ; and there I found a feeling of sympathy for 
Bunyan. Let it not be said, in after times, that the descend- 
ants of the Puritans allowed themselves to be frightened by 
a scare-crow, or put to flight by the shake of a rag. 

I am afraid that the native-born quarrelsomeness of dis- 
position about " folk," and things in general, which charac- 
terizes Scottish people, will prove a bar to the Gipsies own- 



626 DISQUISITION ON TEE GIPSIES. 

ing themselves up in Scotland. Go into any Scottish village 
you like, and ascertain the feelings which the inliabitants 
entertain for each other, and you will find that such a one 
is a " poor grocer body ;" that another belongs to a " shoe- 
maker pack, another to a " tailor pack," another to a "cadger 
pack," another to a " collier pack," and another to a " low 
Tinkler pack ;" another to a " bad nest," and another to a 
" very bad nest." And it is pretty much the same with the 
better classes. Now, how could the Gipsy tribe live amid 
such elements, if it did not keep everything connected with 
itself hidden from all the other " packs" surrounding it? 
And is it consonant with reason to say, that a Scotchman 
should be rated as standing at the bottom of all the various 
" packs" and " nests," simply because he has Gipsy blood 
in his veins ? Yet, I meet with Scotchmen in the New 
World, who express such a feeling towards the Gipsies. 
This quarrelling about " folk" reigns supreme in Scotland ; 
and, what is worse, it is brought with the people to Am- 
erica. It is inherent in them to be personal and intolerant, 
among themselves, and to talk of, and sneer at, each other, 
and '' cast up things." In that respect, a community of 
Scotch people presents a peculiarity of mental feeling that 
is hardly to be found in one of any other people. When 
they come together, in social intercourse, there is frequently, 
if not generally, a hearty, if not a boisterous, flow of feeling, 
and, if the bottle contributes to the entertainment, a foam 
upon the surface ; but the under-tow and ground-swell are 
frequently long in subsiding. Even in America, where they 
are reputed to have the clannishness of Jews, we will find 
within their respective circles, more heart-burnings, jealous- 
ies, envyings, and quarrellings, (but little or no Irish fight- 
ing, for they are rather given to " taking care of their 
characters,") than is to be found among almost any other 
people. At the best, there may be said to be an armed 
truce always to be found existing among them. Still, all 
that is not known to people outside of these circles ; for 
those within them are animated by a common national 
sentiment, which leads them to conceal such feelings from 
others, so as to " uphold the credit of their country," wbere- 
ever they go. It will be a difficult matter to get the Gip- 
sies heartily acknowledged among such elements as equals ; 
for it makes many a native Scot wild, to tell him that there 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 527 

are Scottish Gipsies as good, if not better, men than he is, 
or any kith or kin that belongs to him. 

And yet, it is not the Scottish gentleman — the gentleman 
by birth, rearing, education, mind, or manners — who will be 
backward to assist in raising up, and dignifying, the name of 
Gipsy. No ; it will be the low-minded and ignorant Scots ; 
people who are always either fawning upon, or sneering at, 
those above them, or trampling, or attempting to trample, 
upon those below them. It is very apt to be that class 
which Lord Jeffrey describes as " having a double allow- 
ance of selfishness, with a top-dressing of pedantry and con- 
ceit," and some of the " but and ben" gentry, who will sneer 
most at the word Gipsy. It is the flunkey, who lives and 
brings up his family upon the cast-off clothes and broken 
victuals of others, and but for whom such things would find 
their way to the rag-basket and the pigs ; 'tis he and liis 
children who are too often the most difficult to please in the 
matter of descent, and the most likely to perpetuate the 
prejudice against the Gipsy tribe. 

I have taken some trouble to ascertain the feelings of 
Scotchmen in America towards tlie Scottish Gipsies, such as 
they are represented in these pages ; and I find that, among 
the really educated and liberally brought up classes, there 
are not to be discovered those prejudices against them, that 
are expressed by the lower classes, and especially those from 
country places. It is natural for the former kind of people 
to take the most liberal view of a question like tlie present ; 
for they are, in a measure, satisfied with their position in 
life ; while, with the lower classes, it is a feeling of restless 
discontentment that leads them to strive to get some one 
under them. No one would seem to like to be at the bottom 
of any society ; and nowhere less so than in Scotland. A 
good education and up-bringing, and a knowledge of the 
world, likewise give a person a more liberal cast of mind, 
wherewith to form an opinion upon the subject of tlie Gip- 
sies ; and it is upon such that I would mainly rely in an 
attempt to raise up the name of Gipsy. Among the lower 
classes of my own countrymen, I find individuals all tliat 
could be desired in the matter of esteeming the Gipsies, ac- 
cording to the characters they bear, and the positions they 
occupy in life ; but they are exceptions to the classes to 
which they belong. Ilcrc is a specimen of tlic kind of Scot 



528 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

the most difficult to break in to entertaining a proper feel- 
ing upon the subject of the Gipsies : 

By birtli, he is a child of that dependent class that gcfts a 
due share of the broken victuals and cast-off clothes of other 
people. His parents are decent and honest enough people, 
but very conceited and self-sufficient. Any person in the 
shape of a mechanic, a labourer, or a peasant, appears as 
nobody to them ; although, in independence, and even cir- 
cumstances, they are not to be compared to many a peasant. 
The " oldest bairn" takes his departure for the Kew World, 
" with the firm determination to show to the world that he is 
a man," and " teach the Yankees something." The first 
thing he does to " show the world that he is a man," is to 
sneer, behave rudely, and attempt to pick quarrels with a 
better class of his own countrymen, when he comes in con- 
tact with them. Providence has not been over-indulgent 
with him in the matters of perceptors or reflectors ; for, what 
little he knows, he has acquired in the manner that chickens 
pick up their food, when it is placed before them. But he has 
been gifted with a wonderful amount of self-conceit, which 
nothing can break down in him, however much it may bo 
abashed for the moment, l^o one boasts more of his " fami- 
ly," to those who do not know who his family are, although 
his family were brought up in a cage, and so small a cage, 
that some of them must have roosted on the spars overhead 
at night. No one is more independent, none more patriotic ; 
no one boasts more of Wallace and Bruce, Burns and Scott, 
and all the worthies ; to him there is no place in the world 
like " auld Scol!land yet;" no one glories more in " the noble 
qualities of the Scot ;" and none's face burns with more im- 
portance in upholding, unchallenged, what he claims to be 
his character ; yet the individual is a compound of conceit 
and selfishness, meanness and sordidness, and is estimated, 
wherever he goes, as a " perfect sweep." Although no one 
is more given to toasting, " Brithers a' the world o'er," and, 
" A man's a man for a' that," yet speak of the Gipsies to him, 
and he exclaims : "Thank God! there's no a drap o^ 
Gipsy blood in me ; no one drap o't !" Not only is he un- 
able to comprehend the subject, but he is unwilling to hear 
the word Gipsy mentioned. In short, he turns up his nose 
at the subject, and howls like a dog.* 

• It is interesting to compare this feeling with that of the lowest order 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 529 

It is the better kind of Soottisli people, in whatever sphere 
of life they are to be found, on whom tlie g-reatest reliance 
is to be placed in raising up and dignifying tlie word Gipsy. 
This peculiar family of mankind has been fully three centu- 
ries and a half in the country, and it is high time that it 
should be acknowledged, in some form or other ; high time, 
certainly, that we should know something about it. To an 
intelligent people it must appear utterly ridiculous that a 
prejudice is to be entertained against any Scotchman, with- 
out knowing who tliat Scotchman is, merely on account of 
his blood. Xor will any intelligent Scotchman, after the 
appearance of this work, be apt to say that he does not un- 
derstand the subject of the Gipsies ; or that they cease to 
be Gipsies by leaving the tent, or by a change of character 
or habits, or by their blood getting mixed. It will not do 
for any one to snap at the heels of this question : he must 
look at it steadily, and approach it with a clear head, a firm 
hand, and a Christian heart, and remove this stigma that has 
been allowed to attach to his country. No one in particu- 
lar can be blamed for the position which the Gipsies occupy 
in the country : let by-gones be by-gones ; let us look to the 
future for that expression of opinion which the subject calls 
for. This much I feel satisfied of, that if the Gipsy subject 
is properly handled, it would result in the name becoming as 
much an object of respect and attachment in many of the 
race, as it is now considered a reproach in others. There 
is much that is interesting in the name, and nothing neces- 
sarily low or vulgar associated with it ; although there is 
much that is wild and barbarous connected with the descent, 
which is peculiar to the descent of all original tribes. It is 
unnecessary to say, that in a part of the race, we still find 
much that is wild, and barbarous, and roguish. 

The latter part of the Gipsy nation, whether settled or 
itinerant, must be reached indirectly, for reasons which have 
already been given ; for it does not serve much purpose to 
interfere too directly with them, as Gipsies. We should 
ISi'ing a reflective influence to bear upon them, by holding 
up to their observation, some of their own race in respect- 
able positions in life, and respected by the world, as men, 

of Spaniards, as described by Mr. Borrow, " The outcast of the prison and 
the j)rctiidio, who calls himself Spaniard, would feel insulted by being termed 
Gitano, and would thank God that he is not." J'ii(/c o80. 

23 



530 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

though not known to be Gipsies. I could propose no better 
plan to be adopted, with some of these people, than to o^ive 
them a copy of the present work, along with the Pilgrim'? 
Progress, containing a short account of the Gipsies, and a 
Gipsy's encampment for a frontispiece. The world may 
well believe that the Gipsies would read both of them, and 
be greatly benefited by the Pilgrim's Progress ; for, as a 
race, they are exceedingly vain about anything connected 
with themselves. Said I to some English Gipsies : " You 
are the vainest people in the world ; you think a vast deal 
of yourselves." " There is good reason for that," they re- 
plied 5 " if we do not think something of ourselves, there 
are no others to do it for us." Now since John Bunyan has 
become so famous throughout the world, and so honoured by 
all sects and parties, what an inimitable instrument Provi- 
dence has placed in our hands wherewith to raise up the 
name of Gipsy ! Through him we can touch the heart of 
Christendom ! I am well aware that the Church of Scot- 
land has, or at least had, a mission among the itinerant 
Scottish Gipsies. In addition to the means adopted by this 
mission, to improve these Gipsies, it would be well to take 
such steps as I have suggested, so as to raise up the name of 
Gipsy. For, in this way, the Gipsies, of all classes, would 
see that they are not outcasts ; but that the prejudices which 
people entertain for them are applicable to their ways of 
life, only, and not to their blood or descent, tribe or language. 
Their hearts would then become more easily touched, their 
affections more readily secured ; and the attempt made to 
improve them would have a much better chance of being 
successful. A little judgment is necessary in conducting an 
intercourse with the wild Gipsy, or, indeed, any kind of 
Gipsy ; it is very advisable to speak well of " the blood," 
and never to confound the race with the cond'^ct of part of 
it. There is hardly anything that can give a poor Gipsy 
greater pleasure than to tell him something about his people, 
and particularly should they be in a respectable position ii*. 
life, and be attached to tlieir nation. It serves no great 
purpose to appear too serious with such a person, for that 
soon tires him. It is much better to keep him a little buoy- 
ant and cheerful, with anecdotes and stories, for that is his 
natural character ; and to take advantage of occasional op- 
portunities, to slip in advices that are to l)e uf use to him. 



DISqUISITTON ON THE GIPSIES. 531 

"What is called long-facedness is entirely thrown away upon 
a Gipsy of this kind. 

I am very much inclined to believe tliat a Gipsy, well np 
in the scale of Scottisli society, experiences, in one respect, 
nearly the same feelings in coming in contact witli a wild 
Gipsy, that are peculiar to any other person. These are of 
a very singular nature. At first, we feel as if we were go- 
ing into the lair of a wild animal, or putting our finger into 
a snake's mouth ; such is the result of the prejudice in which 
we have been reared from infancy ; but these feelings be- 
come greatly modified as we get accustomed to the people. 
The world has never had the opportunity of fairly contem- 
plating any other kind of Gipsy ; hence the extreme preju- 
dice against the name. But when we get accustomed to 
meet with other kinds of Gipsies, and have associations 
with them, the feeling of prejudice changes to that of de- 
cided interest and attachment. I have met with various 
Scottish Gipsies of the female sex, in America, and, among 
others, one who could sit any day for an ideal likeness of the 
mother of Burns. She takes little of the Gipsy in her ap- 
pearance. There is another, taking greatly after the Gipsy, 
born in Scotland, and reared in America ; a very fine moth- 
erly person, indeed. I cannot, at the present stage of mat- 
ters, mention the word Gipsy to her, but I know very well 
that she is a Gipsy. It takes some time for the feeling of 
prejudice for the word Gipsy to wear off, Avhen contempla- 
ting even a passable kind of Gipsy. That object would be 
much more easily attained, were the people to own " the 
blood," unreservedly and cheerfully ; for the very reserve, 
to a great extent, creates, at least keeps alive, the prejudice. 
But that cannot well take place till the word " Gipsy" bears 
the signification of gentleman, in some of the race, as it does 
of vagabond, in otliers. 

Some of my readers may still ask : " What is a Gipsy, 
after all that has been said upon the subject ? Since it is 
not necessarily a question of colour of face, or hair, or eyes, 
or of creed, or character, or of any outward thing by which 
a human being can be distinguislicd ; what is it that con- 
stitutes a Gipsy ?" And I reply : " Let them read this work 
through, and thoroughly digest all its principles, and they 
cdinfeel what a Gi[)sy is, should they stumble upon one, it 
may be, in their own spliere of life, and hear him, or her, 



532 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

admit the fact, and speak unreservedly of it. They will then 
feel their minds rubbing against the Gipsy mind, their spir- 
its communing with tlie Gipsy spirit, and experience a pecu- 
liar mental galvanic shock, which they never felt before."* 
It is impossible to say where the Gipsy soul may not exist 
at the present day, for there is this peculiarity about the 
tribe, as I have said before, that it always remains Gipsy, 
cross it out to the last drop of the original blood ; for where 
that drop goes, the Gipsy soul accompanies it.f 

It is the Christian who should be the most ready to take 
up and do justice to this subject ; for he will find in it a 
very singular work of Providence — the most striking phe- 
nomenon in the history of man. In Europe, the race has ex- 
isted, in an unacknowledged state, for a greater length of 
time than the Jews dwelt in Egypt. And it is time that it 
should be introduced to the family of mankind, in its aspect 
of historical development ; embracing, as in Scotland, mem- 
bers ranging from what are popularly understood to be Gip- 
sies, to those filling the first positions in Christian and social 

* Let us suppose that a person, who has read all the works that have 
hitherto appeared on the Gipsies, and noticed the utter absence, in them, 
of everything of the nature of a philosophy of the subject, tht.rou2:hly 
masters all that is set forth in the present work. The knowledge which he 
then possesses puts him in such a position, that he approximates to being 
one of the tribe, himself ; that is, if all that is contained therein be known 
to him and the tribe, only, it would enable him to pass current, in certain 
circles of Gipsydom, as one of themselves. 

+ There is a point wliich I have not explained so fully as I might have 
done, and it is this : " Is any of the blood ever lost ? that is, does it ever 
cease to he Gipf^y, in knowledge and feeling ?" That is a question not easily 
answered in the affirmative, were it only for this reason : how can it ever 
be ascertained that the knowledge and feeling of being Gipsies become 
lost ? Let us suppose that a couple of Gipsies leave England, and settle in 
America, and that they never come in contact with any of their race, and 
that their children never learn anything of the matter from any quarter. 
(Page 413.) In such an extreme, I may say, such an unnatural, case, 
the children would not be Gipsies, but, if born in America, ordinary Amer- 
icans. The only way in which the Gipsy blood — that is, the Gipsy feeling 
— can possiblj^ be lost, is by a Gipsy, (a m;m especially,) marrying an ordi- 
nary native, (page 381,) and the children never learning of the circum- 
stance. But, as I have said before, how is that ever to be ascertained? 
The question might be settled in this way : Let the relatives of the Gipsy 
interrogate the issue, and if it answers, truly, that it knows nothing of the 
Gipsy connexion, and never has its curiosit}^ in the matter excited, it holds, 
beyond dispute, that " the blood" has been lost to the ti-ibe. For any loss 
the tribe may sustain, in that way, it gains, in an ample degree, by draw- 
ing upon the blood of the native race, and transmuting it into that of its 
own fraternity. 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 533 

society. After perusing the present work, the reader will 
naturally pass on to reconsider the subject of the Jews ; and 
he will perceive that, instead ot its being a niiracle by wliich 
the Jews have existed since the dispersion, it would have 
been a miracle liad they been lost among the families of man- 
kind. It is quite sufficient for the Christian to know that 
the Jews now exist, and that they have fulfilled, and will 
yet fulfill, the prophecies that have been delivered in regard 
to them, without holding that any miracle has been wrought 
for that end. A Christian ought to be more considerate in 
his estimate of what a miracle is : he ought to know that a 
miracle is something that is contrary to natural laws ; and 
that the existence of the Jews, since the dispersion, is in 
exact harmony with every natural law. He should not main 
tain that it is a miracle, for nothing having the decent 
appearance of an argument can be advanced in support 
of any such theory ; and far less should he, with his eyes 
open, do what the writer on the Christian Evidences, al- 
luded to, (page 459,) did, with his shut — gamble away 
both law and gospel.* He might give his attention, 
however, to a prophecy of Moses, quoted by St. Paul, in 
Rom. X. 19, from Deut. xxxii. 21, wherein it is said of the 
Jews : " I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are 
no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you ;" and 
lend his assistance towards its fulfillment.t The subject 

* It was the nature of man, in ancient times, as it is with the heathen 
to-day, to worship what could not be understood ; while modern civiliza- 
tion seems to attribute such phenomena to miracles. It is even presump- 
tuous to liave recourse to such an alternative, for the enquirer may be de- 
ficient in the intellect necessary to prosecute such investi^^ations, or he may 
not be in possession of sufficient data. If the European will, for example, 
ask himself, Istly: what is the idea wliich he has of a Gipsy? 2ndly: 
what are the feelings which he entertains for him personally ? And 3dly : 
what must be the response of the Gipsy to the sentiments of the other? 
he cannot avoid comin<^ to the conclusion, that the race should " marry 
among themselves." and that, " let them be in whatever situation of life 
they may, they all" should " stick to each other." {Page 369.) 

•j- Viewing the Gipsies as they arc described in this work, and cojitrnsting 
their history with that of the nations of the world in general, and the Jews 
in particular, and considering that they have no religion peculiar to them- 
selves, yet are scattered among, and worked into, all nal ions, hut not ac- 
knowledged by, or even known to, others, we may, with the utmost 
propriety, call them, in the language of the prophet, "no people," and a " fool- 
ish nation ;" yet by no means a nation of fools, but rather more rogues than 
fools. Of all the ways in which the Gipsies have hoaxed other people, the 



534 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

of the Gipsies is certainly calculated to do all that the 
prophet said would happen to the Jews ; if Christians will 
only do their duty to them, and, by playing them off against 
the Jews, j9roi;o^e and (2w^er Israel beyond measure. That 
the Jews have existed, since the dispersion, by the Provi- 
dence of God, is what can be said of any other people, and 
more especially of the Gipsies for the last four centuries 
and a half in Europe. It is as natural for the Gipsies to 
exist in their scattered state, as for other nations by the laws 
that preserve their identity ; and although their history may 
be termed remarkable, it is in no sense of the word miracu- 
lous, notwithstanding the superstitious ideas held by many 
of the Gipsies on that head, in common with the Jews re- 
garding their history. A thousand years hence tlie Gipsies 
will be found existing in the world ; for, as a people, they 
cannot die out ; and the very want of a religion peculiar to 
themselves is one of the means that will contribute to that 
end."^ It is the Christian who should endeavour to have 
the prejudice against the name of Gipsy removed, so that 
every one of the race should freely own his blood to the 
other, and make it the basis of a kindly feeling, and a bond 
of brotherhood, all around the world. 

I may be allowed to say a word or two to the Gipsies, 
and more especially the Scottish Gipsies. I wish them to 
believe, (what they, indeed, believe already,) that tlieir blood 
and descent are good enough ; and that Providence may 
reasonably be assumed to look upon both with as much com- 
placency and satisfaction, as He does on any other blood and 
descent. All that they have to do is to " behave them- 
selves ;" for, after all, it is behaviour that makes tlie man. 
By all means " stick to the ship," but sail her as an honour- 
able merchantman. They need not be afraid at being dis- 
covered to be Gipsies ; they should feel as much assured 
on the subject now, as before the publication of this work, 
and never entertain the least misgiving on that score. They 

manner in which they have managed to throw around themselves a sense 
of their non-existence to the minds of others, is the most remarkable. 

* The prejudice of their fellow-creatures is a sufficiently potent cause, 
in itself, to preserve the identity of the Gipsy tribe in the world. It has 
made it to resemble an essence, hermetically sealed. Keep it in that posi- 
tion, and it retains its inherent qualities undiminished ; but uncork the 
vessel containing it, and it might (1 do not say it would) evaporate among 
the surroundino; elements. 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 535 

will have an occasion to cultivate a proper degree of confi- 
dence in respect to themselves, and be so prepared as never 
to commit themselves, if they wish not to be known as Gip- 
sies. I know there are few people who have nerve enougli 
so to deport tliemselves, as to prevent moral detection, who 
liave committed murder, when they are confronted with the 
objects of it ; but if the individuals are perfectly satisfied 
of there being no evidence against tliem, tliey may confi- 
dently assume an appearance of innocence. It is so with 
the Gipsies in settled life, as to their being Gipsies, Gen- 
erally speaking, their blood is so much mixed as almost to 
defy detection ; although, for the future, some of them will 
be very apt to look at themselves in their mirrors, to see 
whether there is much of the " black deil" in their faces. 
But it rests with themselves to escape detection, and par- 
ticularly so as regards the fair, brown, and red Gipsies. 
^ I may also be allowed to say a word or two to the Church, 
and people generally. It says little for them, that, although 
two centuries have elapsed since Bunyan's time, no one has 
acknowledged him. It surely might have occurred to them 
to ask, \sily : What was that particular family, or tribe, of 
wliich Bunyan said he was a member? 2ndly : Who are 
the tinkers ? Zdly : What was the meaning of Bunyan en- 
tertaining so much solicitude, and undergoing so much 
trouble, to ascertain whether he, (a common Engllslitnan^ 
forsooth !) was a Jew, or not ? 4ithly : Was John Bunyan 
a Gipsy ? Let my reader reply to these questions, like a 
man of honour. Aye or nay, was John Bunyan a Gipsy ? 
" He was a Gipsy." 

In modern times people will preach the gospel " around 
about lUyricum," compass sea and land, and penetrate 
every continent, to bring home Christian trophies ; while in 
Bunyan they have a tropliy — a real case of " grace abound- 
ing ;" and yet no one has acknowledged him, althougli his 
fame will be as lasting as the pyramids. John Bunyan was 
evidently a man who was raised up by God for some great 
purposes. One of these purposes he has served, and will 
yet serve ; and it becomes us to enquire what further pur- 
pose he is destined to serve. It is showing a poor respect 
for Bunyan's memory, to deny him his nationality, to rob 
him of his birth-right, and attempt to make liim out to have 
been that which he positively was not. To gratify their 



636 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

own prejudices, people would degrade the illustrious dreamer, 
from being this great original, into being the off-scourings 
of all England. People imagine tliat they would degrade 
Bunyan by saying that he was a Gipsy. They degrade 
themselves who do not believe he was a Gipsy ; they doubly 
degrade themselves who deny it. Jews may well taunt 
Christians in the matter of evidences, and that on a simple 
matter of fact, affecting no one's interests, temporal or eter- 
nal, and as clear as the sun at mid-day ; for by Bunyan's 
own showing he was a Gipsy ; but if any further evidence 
was wanted, how easily could it not have been collected, any 
time during the last two hundred years ! 

I have hitherto got the " cold shoulder" from the organs 
of some of the religious denominations on this subject : time 
will show whether it is always to be so. The Church should 
know what is its mission: it rests on evidence itself, and it 
should be the first to follow out its own principles. It 
should fight its own battles, and give the enemy no occasion 
to speak reproachfully of it. In approaching this subject, it 
would be well to do it cheerfully, and gracefully, and man- 
fully, and not as if the person were dragged to it, with a 
rope around his neck. No one need imagine that by keep- 
ing quiet, this matter will blow over. For the Gipsy race 
cannot die out ; nor is this work likely to die out soon ; for 
unless it is superseded by some other, it will come up cen- 
turies hence, to judge the present genepation on the Gipsy 
question. May such as have written on the great dreamer 
never lift up their heads, may his works turn to hot coals in 
their fingers, may their memories be outlawed, if they allow 
this unchristian, this unmanly, this silly, this childish, preju- 
dice of caste to prevent them from doing justice to their 
hero. Nor need any one utter a murmur at the prospect of 
seeing the Pilgrim's Progress prefaced by a dissertation on 
the Gipsies, with a Gipsy's camp for a frontispiece. Such a feel- 
ing may be expressed by boors, snobs, and counterfeit relig- 
ionists ; but better things are to be expected from other people. 

Let the reader now pause, and reflect upon the prejudice 
of caste that exists against the name of Gipsy, and he will 
fully realize how it is that we should know so little about 
the Gipsies, and why it is that the Gipsies, as they leave 
the tent, should hide their nationality from the rest of the 
world, and " stick to each other." 



DISQUISITION ON TEE GIPSIES. 587 

In bringing this Disquisition on the Gipsies to a close, I 
may be allowed to say a word or two to some of the critics. 
In the first place, I may venture to assert, that the subject is 
worthy of a criticism the most disinterested and profound. 
I am well aware that the publication of the v> ork places me 
in a position antagonistic alike to authors and critics who 
have w^ritten on the subject, as well as to the prejudices of 
mankind generally. If critics call in question any of tlie 
facts contained in the production, they must give their 
authorities ; if they controvert any of the principles, they 
must give their reasons. It will not do to play the ostrich 
instead of the critic. For as the ostrich is said to hide its 
head in the sand, or in a bush, or, it may be, under its wing, 
and imagine that because it sees no one, so no one sees it ; 
so there are people, sometimes to be met with, who will not 
only imagine, but assert, that because they know nothing of 
a thing, or because they do not undei'stand it, tlierefore the 
thing itself does not exist. This was the way in which 
Bruce's tra\els in Africa were received. But we are not 
living in those times. Procedure such as that described, is 
playing the ostrich, not the critic. I refer more particularly, 
however, to what is contained in this Disquisition. Taking 
the work all through, I think there are sufficient materials 
contained in it, to enable the critics to settle the various 
questions among tliemselves. 

To place myself in a position a little independent of pub- 
lishers, (for 1 have had great difficulty in finding a publislier,) 
I had the Introduction, (pages 55-67), printed, and circulated 
among some acquaintances in Canada, for subscribers."^ A 
copy of it fell into the hands of an intelligent Scottish 
newspaper editor, in a small comnuniity, where every one 
knows every other's business nearly as well as his own, and 
where all about the Prospectus was explained to those to 
whom it was given. It seems to have frightened and en- 

* The MS. of this work has undergone many vicissitudes. Among otliera, 
it may be mentioned that, in the state in which it was left by the author, 
it was twice lost, and once stolen ; on which last occasion it was recovered, 
at an expense of one shilling I Then the original copy, in its present form, 
was stolen, and never recovered. In both instances did that happen under 
circumstances that such a fate was most unlikely to befall it. Then a copy 
of it was sent to t^cotland, and never acknowledged, although I am in hopes 
it is now on its return, after a lapse of nearly three years; in which 
case, I will be more fortunate than the author, who gave the MS. to an 
Individual and never got, and uever could get, it back. 

23* 



638 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

raged the editor to such an extent, that I entertain litth) 
doubt he did not sleep comfortably, for nights in succession, 
on finding that subject brought to light at his own door, 
whicli has been considered, by some, as well-nigli dead and 
buried long ago. He imagines the circulation of the Pro- 
spectus to be confined preity much to his own neighbourliood ; 
and so he must crush the horrible thing out. But what can 
he say about it ? How put it down ? A capital idea occurs 
to him ; he will father it upon Barnum ! Let the reader 
glance again at the Introduction, and imagine how a Scotch- 
man, well posted up on Scotch affairs, past and present, 
should credit Barnum witli the production. He heads his 
criticism, " The science of humbug," and, in some long and 
bitter paragraphs, pitches into what he calls American liter- 
ary quackery ; the substance of which is, that the work 
represented by the Prospectus, is a rare tit-bit of genuine, 
Barnumized, American humbug ! 

He finds, however, that he has gone much too far in his 
description of the Prospectus ; so he comes tumbling down 
a long way from the high position which he took at the start, 
and continues : " Now, we do not, at present, venture the 
assertion that the forthcoming ' Scottish Gipsies' is a Yankee 
get-up, a mere American humbug ; but we say the Prospect- 
us savours strongly of the Barnum school ; and our reasons 
for so saying are the following : Firstly : It would be noth- 
ing less than a literary miracle, that a Scottish work of suf- 
ficient merit to command the highest commendations of Sir 
"Walter Scott, and Blackwood's Magazine, should be pub- 
lished, first of all in America, thirty years afterwards — pub- 
lished, by subscription, at one dollar, in a book of 400 pages. 
We assert, positively, that of such a work William Black- 
wood, alone, could have disposed of five thousand copies, at 
double the proposed price. [He is well acquainted with the 
prices of books in the two countries.] Secondly : There is 
no evidence to connect Sir Walter Scott's note to Quentin 
Durward with Walter Simson, or any other particular indi- 
vidual ; and the same may be said of tlie jingle of Professor 
Wilson, and the other allusions in Blackwood's Magazine. 
Thirdly : There is neither danger nor diflficulty in writing 
anything you please, and telling the public it is an extract 
of a private letter you had from some particular man of 
eminence, thirty years ago, provided your eminent friend 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 539 

•• 
has been mraiy yeart? in his grave. Such a fraud is not easily 
detected. And Fourthly : The reason assigned for publish- 
ing the ' Scottish Gipsies' is totally upset by 

the simple fact, that there are no such people in existence, in 
so far as Scotland is concerned. [What an audacity he dis- 
plays here ! What a liberty he takes with the Scotch set- 
tlers in his neiglibourliood ! He is evidently afraid that he 
has gone too far ; so he qualifies what he has said, by add- 
ing :] There are, it is true, a few families of itinerant tink- 
ers, or Tinklers, according to our peculiar vernacular, who 
stroll the country, and subsist by making horn-spoons and 
sauce-pans, which they barter with the rural peasantry, for 
potatoes and other eatables. They are generally wild, reck- 
less, and dishonest, and are a terror to children and old 
women. In nineteen cases out of twenty, they are natives 
of Ireland ; and were any person idle enough to trace their 
genealogy, he would discover that their ancestors, not more 
than three generations back, were honest brogue-makers, 
pig-drovers, or, it may be, members of some more elevated 
occupation. [He lias been ' idle enough' to give us a very 
odd account of the descent, in two senses of the word, of 
the Irish tinkering Gipsies now in Scotland.] The writer 
of these remarks is well acquainted with almost the whole 
Lowlands, and a portion of the West Highlands. He has 
been familiar with the shires of Fife and Linlithgow, with 
Annandale, the Upper Ward of Lanarkshire, and the other 
fabulously reputed haunts of the Gipsies [he seems to 
have done a little tramping in his time] ; and he never saw 
twenty Scottish Tinklers in his whole life, nor one single in- 
dividual corresponding to the description we have received 
of the Gipsies. [He has told us who the Irish Tinklers in 
Scotland were originally, but does not venture to say any- 
thing of the Scottish ones. He will not admit that there 
is a Giptsy in Scotland, or ever has been ; and virtually 
denies that there are Gipsies in England ; for he continues :J 
The nearest approach to the character is the liawkcrs from 
the Staffordshire potteries, who are found living in tents by 
the way -side, throughout the Nortli Riding of Yorkshire, and 
the five northern counties of England. Tlicse arc a kind of 
savages, who live in families, strolling the country, in largo 
caravans, consisting frequently of half a dozen capvas-cov 
ered wagons and twice that number of horses 



540 DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 

These characters often cross the Border, at Langhohii and 
Gretna Green, and infest Annandale, Roxburghshire, Dum- 
fries-shire, and the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright. [He will 
not allude to tlie te7it€d Gij)sies in England.] 

" These two classes of foreign vagrants [wliy does he call 
them foreign vagrants ? why not say Gipsies ?] which we 
mention, are to be found, occasionally, in certain localities of 
Scotland, [still nothing said of the Scottish Tinklers,'] and 
are to be found as a dreaded, dangerous nuisance. But the 
idea of a race of Scottish Tinklers, or Scottish Gipsies, ex- 
isting as a distinct and separate people, possessing a native, 
independent language, and peculiar habits, rites, and ceremo- 
nies, and bearing, in many features of their barbarous cus- 
toms, and outcast destiny, a resemblance to the vagabond 
Jews ; such an idea, we say, has as little foundation in fact, 
as has Swift's story of the Lilliputians, or the romance of 
Guy Mannering itself ! [It is astonishing what he would 
not attempt to palm upon the public. Still, he is e^-idently 
afraid that the subject will, somehow or other, bite him ; and, 
after all that he has said, he concludes :] Still, we do not, 
at present, assert that the Prospectus we have received is 
another 'cute move of American humbug ; but we do say, 
if there is a James Simson in existence, who possesses such 
a manuscript, and such commendations of it as are set forth 
in this Prospectus, he has already erred sufficiently far to en- 
sure his identification with Yankee quackery. He has been 
Barnumized into an egregious blunder." [He is bound to 
discredit the whole affair, under any circumstances, even at 
the expense of the plainest consistency.] 

Well might a brother editor reply to the foregoing, thus : 
" The bile of our excellent friend has just been agitated after 

a pestilent fashion The announcement [of 

the intended publication] hath all the ungenial effects upon 
our gossip that the exhibition of a pair of scarlet decencies 
produces upon a cranky bull IS'ow, just lis- 
ten to us quietly for a little. More than two years ago, the 
manuscript of the above-mentioned treatise on the Scoto- 
Egyptians came under our ken. We perused the affiir with 
special appetite, and were decidedly of opinion that its pub- 
lication would be a grateful and important boon to tlie re- 
public of letters. Mr. Simson is neither a myth nor a disci- 
ple of Barnum." Upon the back ol this, the first editor 



DISQUISITION ON THE GIPSIES. 541 

writes : " We arc pleased to be informed tliat the work is a 
bona Jide production, and tliat Mr. Simson is no Yankee 
fiction. [As if he did not know tliat from the first.] And 
albeit he, [the other editor,] furnisheth neither facts nor 
arguments to satisfy us that our notions of the Gipsies of 
Scotland are heretical, w^e willingly accept his recommend 
that the ' Scottish Gipsies ' will be, at least, an entertaining 
book, and reserve all further remarks till we see it."[!] 

The foregoing is a very curious criticism ; and although I 
could say a great deal more about it, I refrain from doing so. 



J 



INDEX 



PAOB 

AFRICANS. 

Comparison between Africans, in America, and Gipsies generally.. 50, 493 

How they lost their language and superstitions in America 50 

The prejudice against Africans in America 54, 441 

AFRIC A N GIPSIES 428, n429 

AMERICAN GIPSIES. 

Many arrived during the Revolution, as impressed soldiers, and vol- 
unteers 845 

English Gipsies married to native Americans ,^ .^ 377 

A Gitano has a cigar store in Virginia. Egyptians in Louisiana, n.. . 889 

See Disquisition on the Gipsies 418-425 

Meeting between English and American Gipsies, in Maryland 430 

The Zincali Society in the city of New York, »438— A'ddress to the 

American Gipsies 440 

There should be no prejudices against Gipsies in America ...441, 518, 524 

AMERICAN INDIANS. 

Comparison between them and the Gipsies generally 53, 55, 446 

AMERICAN READER, to the 6,7,440, 524, 525 

AMUSEMENTS OF GIPSIES 124, 126, 179, 182,224 

ANTIQUARIES. 

Prejudices of, against the Gipsies «7 

The profession of, 56, zeal in the calling of. w57 

ARABS. 

English Gipsies say they are a cross between Arabs and Egyptians. 14, 467 

How Arabs protect shipwrecked Christians n203 

They strip people of their clothes in the desert 210 

BAILLIES OF LAMINGTON. 

Their influence of great service to the Scottish Gipsiesl21, 202, 205, 213, 470 
The connexion between them and the Gipsy tribe of BailUe 18o 

BAIRD, REV. JOHN. 

His report on the Gipsy mission to the Church of Scotland 64 

His collection of Gipsy words, collated with those of the author 834 

On the absence of slang in the Gipsy language n838 

His plan for improving the Gipsies 368, »i3ti9 

BATTLES, GIPSV. 

At Stirling 147, Romanno 188, Hawick 190, Esk-dale moor 193, Dum- 
blane 194 

BIGGAR. 

The face of the country about Biggar 141 

Gipsy turbulence m Biggar fair 19*; 

BIRTH OF THE ORIGINAL KIND OF GIPSIES 356, »357 

BLACKWOOD'S MAGAZINE. 

The author's articles in, 8, 56, 64— Poetical notice of them 68 

Hints at a philosophical account of the Gipsies 25 

Extracts of Scottish public records, taken from 113 

Unintentional attempt of a Gipsy to rob his own clergyman fil24 

Chase after John Young, a Gipsy, resembling a fox hunt »144 

The unabashed hardihood of Gipsies under suspicion nl55 

Old Will of Phaup's five years' warfare with the Gipsies nl79 

Assault of the Gipsies on Pennicuik Ilouse »195 

The slaughter of William BailUe, a Gipsy chief 20« 

(543) 



544 INDEX. 

PAQS 

How the Gipsies acquired a foothold in Yetholm »2o2 

Will Faa's twenty-four children, and pompous christenings n.252 

The language spoken by the Gipsies in the Highlands «33!< 

The Nuts or Bazegurs of India supposed to be the parent stock of the 

Gipsies 339 

The purity of Gipsy blood, and child stealing— Mr. Borrow's " Gipsies 

in Spain" 375 

The numberless descendants of Billy Marshall, a Gipsy chief «383 

The Duchess of Gordon saves two Gipsies from the gallows 470 

BLACKWOOD, WILLIAM. 

His four letters to the author 56 

He originates the idea of a history of the Gipsies n59 

Letter to him, describing the escapes and execution of Peter Young, 

a Gipsy 145 

His contribution on the Gipsies in Tweed-dale 106, on the Border . . . 251 
BORDER GIPSIES. 

The district in which the Faas travelled 236 

The tribes of Faa and Baillie in a state of hostility 236 

Quarrel in an English Gipsy family, in America: "the Faas and Bail- 
lies over again" ^ n2Zl 

Henry Faa sits at the tables of people in public office, and receives 

blackmail from men of considerable fortune 237 

The mercantile house of Fall, of Dunbar, founded by Gipsies 237 

Captain Fall a member of parliament— the family rule the political 

interests of Dunbar 237 

Mrs. Fall works, in tapestry, a group of the founders of the family, 

with their asses, &c 237 

Anecdotes of the Falls with reference to their tribe and origin n238 

The extensive nature of the Fall firm, and the cause of its ruin 23S 

Miss Fall marries Sir John Anstruther, of Elie, baronet 238 

The rabble insult her at an election, in which Sir John is a candidate, 239 

The song of " Johnny Faa, the Gipsy Laddie" 289 

The Earl of Cassilis the husband of her who absconded with the 

" Gipsy Laddie " '. 241 

Adventure of a relative of Sir Walter Scott among the Gipsies 241 

The original of Meg Merrilies 242 — The execution of her sons 243 — 

She is drowned by the rabble, at Carlisle, for being a jacobite 244 

The grandfather of Sir Walter Scott is feasted by the Gipsies, on 

Charterhouse moor 244 

Contribution of Baillie Smith, of Kelso, to Hoyland's "Survey of the 

Gipsies" 

Attachment of the Yetholm Gipsies to their mode of life, their 
independence, peculiar points of honour, honesty when trusted, the 
number of the tribe in the county 245 — Their employment — given 
to hunting and fishing, 246 — The nature of their leases, the 
late proprietor calls them his body-guard, his successor grants no 
more leases to the tribe, they stay at home during the winter months 
only, they seldom marry out of the tribe, 247 — Their physical pecu- 
liarities, occasional migrations, burials, education, church atten- 
dance and baptism — unsteadiness of disposition, they will pay their 
rents only when it suits themselves, 24S — They resent an interfer- 
ence with the Debatable Lands, 249 — Sir Walter Scott points out a 
Gipsy, 250— Will Faa, the Gipsy king, claims kin with the Messrs. 
Fall, merchants, of Dunbar, Will's death and burial, 251 — Report 

on the Gipsies by the sheriffs »251 

Contribution from Mr. Blackwood, towards a history of the Gipsies. 
Yetholm first occupied by the Faas and the Youngs, tradition of 
their first settlement, n — ^^Will Faa and the Falls of Dunbar, Will 
thrice married, his twenty-four children, and potnpous christen- 
ings, has charge of Marlfield house, the sheriff becomes hi3 
security, his corpse escorted by 300 asses, 252 — His sou and sue- 



INDEX. 545 

PAGS 

cesser, his brother a lieutenant in the East India Company's ser- 
vice, Gipsy fights, recovery of a stolen mare, quarrels among the 
tribe, 253— The "Walker family, and civilized Gipsies about Yetholm, 
Gipsy connexions, education, no female Gipsy educated, the colony 

free of imputed crime for fifty years 254 

The author's visit to Yetholm — Handling the cudgel 254 

A smuggling adventure of Will Faa — His appearance — A lament on 

his death 255 

His relations in New York — A great many of the tribe scattered over 

the world '. «255 

BORROW, GEORGE. 

His publications on the Gipsies, since this work was written 6, 64 

In error on the subject of Gipsies stealing children n9, »342 

On the Gipsy language, 23, »281, w298, w388, ?i431— On Timour over- 
running India 38 

In error in saying that the Gipsies obtained the name of Egyptians 

from others ". 39 

Description of English Gipsies, and the English dialect spoken by 

them w93 

Spanish Gipsy counts, wl07, 397, 7i468— Act of Charles II. against 

Spaniards, for protecting the Gipsies ^114 

Gipsies poison swine, and eat their flesh »1 8f> 

English Gipsy surnames — Travelling Gipsies have two names nlVd 

Chastity among young Spanish Gipsy females, »257— Spanish Gipsy 

marriage ceremony n202 

The character of Spanish Gipsy women «285 

On the Law of Charles III., ameliorating the condition of the Span- 
ish Gipsies «313, 392 

Song of a female Gipsy; at Moscow, 7^317 — On the Sclavonic in the 

Gipsy language »33S 

He meets with a rich Gipsy in Spain, ^47— How Gipsies resist cold 

weather «354 

Meeting between a French and Spanish Gipsy, in the heat of a battle, «30O 

On the education of the Spanish Gipsies «3(35 

Religion among the Moscow Gipsies — He preaches to the tribe in 

Spain «366 

A half-blood Spanish Gipsy captain, 372, /t373, 377 — Civilized Gipsies 

in Moscow 374, 399, »408 

Shuffling of the Gipsies regarding marriage with ordinary natives. . »o75 

Characters in Lavengro and the Romany Rye n37r>, 508, »50d 

The Spanish Gipsies generally ; See Dlftquisition on the GipHes. . . .385-397 
The natural capacity of Gipsies — dilierent classes in Spain, Turkey, 

and Russia 898 

No washing will turn the Gipsy white, 413 — Moorish Gipsies in Africa, 428 

He is taken for a Gipsy in Spain, 397, and at Moscow 430 

On the grammatical peculiarities of tbe Gipsy language «4.".l 

On the hatred entertained by the Gipsies for other people n433 

On Gipsy ingratitude— lawlessness in Spain 4.".i 

Mr. Borrow as an authority on the Gipsies. 89, 40, 41, w281-2, 448, 450, 5r2:^ 

On the Russian Gipsies owning (locks and herds 406 

Description of a superior Spanish Gipsv, in 1584 <i4b3 

BRIGHT, DR. (TRAVELS IN HUNGARY.) 

The phenomenon of the existence of the Gipsies 7 

The existence of the Gipsy language little short of the miraculous .. 24 

He hopes to see a satisfactory account of the Gipsies 25 

Description of Gipsy life in England "0 

Description of Gipsy dwellings, and their locations, in Hungary nVtl 

Spanish Gipsy marriage ceremony, «2'J1 — Sj>anish Gipsy widows.. . n274 

The difhculties in acquiring the (iijisy language ". n28l 

He suggests that the Gipsy language should be collated with vulgar 
Hindostauee 830 



546 INDEX. 

PAOK 

A Hungarian nobleman's opinion on the civilization of the Gipsies. 367 

BRUCE, JAMES, (TRAVELS IN AFRICA.) 

Account of the Arabs protecting shipwrecked Christians n203 

Method of selling cargoes, at Jedda, to the Turks »312 

His discoveries discredited 537 

BUNSEN, CHEVALIER, ON SOUND JUDGMENT AND SHALLOW 

MINDS «51 8 

BUNYAN, JOHN. 

He alludes to Gipsy women stealing children, »80 — He is bred to the 

business of a brazier n206 

His family history illustrated by the author's visit to a Gipsy, met with 

at St. Boswell's 309 

His wife before Judge Hale, fi313, 517 — His description of his early 

habits, or " youthful vanities" «402 

His nationality, and that of his tribe; See Disquisition on the Gipsies, 

507-523 

The name of Bunyan calculated to raise up that of the Gipsies 530 

He is still unacknowledged, though his fame will be as lasting as the 

pyramids 535 

Some people imagine it would degrade Bunyan, to say he was a Gipsy 536 

BURNS, ROBERT. 

His " Jolly Beggars ;" " My bonny lass, I work in brass". , n346 

He alludes to the Falls, of Dunbar, in his tour »406 

CANADA. 

A Scottish Gipsy family in, 13— Gipsies in 424 

A criticism on this work, while in prospect, by a Scotch editor in 537 

CAPPADOCE FAMILY, VICISSITUDES IN THE RELIGIOUS HIS- 
TORY OF THE 497 

CARLYLE, DR. ALEXANDER. 
Execution of Jock Johnstone, f»201 — Jenny Fall, afterwards Lady An- 
struther 7i239 

CASSILIS, THE COUNTESS OF. 

Elopes with John Faa, a Gipsy chief, 108— The song of "Johnny Fas, 
the Gipsy Laddie," composed thereon 239 

CASTE. 

In India, 28— In Great Britain, 52, 54, 440, 443, 516, 522— In America, 

54,441, 525 

CHAMBERS' GAZETTEER. 

Description of Yetholm, w^l41 — Gipsy scenes at St. Boswell's fair. . . . »353 

CHAMBERS' JOURNAL— On the disappearance of the Gipsies »449 

CHAMBERS' MISCELLANY— An account of Peter Young, a Gipsy. . . . nl46 

CHILD STEALING BY THE GIPSIES 9, 45, «80, 342, 375 

CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 

Mission among the Scottish Gipsies, 6, 55, 64, n369 

A Gipsy one of the committee of the missionary society .6,405,415,439,523 

Gipsies clergymen in the Scottish Church 6, 412 

Mission of enquiry to the Jews ; the Gipsies of Wallachia «.73 

CHURCH, THE. 

Religious journals decline entertaining the question, "Was John 
Bunyan a Gipsy?" 522, 525 — The Church should do its duty to the 
Gipsv race generallv 440, 443, 532, 535, 536 

CLARKE, DR., (TRAVSLS IN RUSSIA, Ac.) 

Characters of the Gipsies in Wallachia, 74 — Gipsy dances in Moscow, 180 

COLLIERS, GIPSY— In the Lothiaus, »111— In the English mines. . , . . . 401 

COLLIERS, SCOTCH, SLAVES nlll, «»121, 50fe 

CONSTABLES. 

A Gipsy constable murdered, another hanged, and a third banished, 215-218 
Gipsies formerly employed as county constables — Their peculiarities, 843 

Gipsy constables at the present day 348 

A mixed Gipsv makes a good constable and thief-catcher *i348 

CONTINENTAL GIPSIES. 



1 



Il^DEX. 647 

PAOB 

The times at which the tribe appeared iu the different countries in 

Europe 69 

The appellations given to them, in various countries 69 

Notice of the Gipsies, as they appeared at Paris, in 1427 70 

Their original country unknown— At fiist, they receive passports as 

pilgrims 70 

Persecutions in Spain, France, and Italy, in Denmark, Sweden, the 

Netherlands, and Germany 71 

A general extermination never took place 72 

Theft and robbery, and " sorning," or masterful begging, the causes 

of these persecutions 72 

The habits of the Gipsies everywhere the same, 72 — They have no re- 
ligion peculiar to themselves 73 

The condition and classesof the Gipsies in theDanubian Principalities, 73 
Allusion to these Gipsies, in a mission of enquiry to the Jews, in 1839, n73 
Remarks on the slavery of these Gipsies — Gipsies as spies, in the late 

Russian war »74 

The Gipsies in the Turkish empire, in Italy, Poland, Lithuania, Ger- 
many, and France 75 

Remarks on Grellmann's alleged disappearance of the Gipsies from 

France »76 

The Gipsies in Spain, accordmg to Dr. Bright 76 

The Gipsies of Syria, the Crimea, Persia, and India 77 

The population of the Gipsies in Europe, and the world generally. . . 77 
The imposing titles and equipage of the leaders of the Gipsies, on 

their arrival in Europe 77 

The nature and form of government among the Continental Gipsies. 78 
An account of German Gipsy bands, translated by Sir Walter Scott, 

for Hlackwood's Magazine 78 

Baron Trenck, in his wanderings, falls in with a German Gipsy band, 86 
The Gipsies of the Pyrenees — Their resemblance to the inferior class 

of Scottish Gipsies 86 

COOKING AMONG THE GIPSIES 88, 187,232 

COUNTERFEITING AMONG THE GIPSIES 174, 204 

CRABB, REV. JAMES. 

The Gipsies, as they become civilized, avoid the barbarous part of the 

tribe n283 

The Ilindostanee and the Gipsy languages, n334 — His plan for im- 
proving the Gipsies 368 

CRITICS, 

A word or two to — A criticism on this work, while in prospect, by a 

Scotch editor in Canada 537 

DANCING AMONG THE GIPSIES 179, 180, 182 

DEAD, THE BURIAL OF THE, AMONG THE GIPSIES nl28 

DISGUISES OF THE GIPSIES, 129, 150, 162, 109, 177, 213, 222, 320, «323, 

349, 355 
DISQUISITION ON THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE OF GIP- 
SYDOM. 
Points omitted by the author— The philosophy of the Gipsy subject, 871 
Gipsydom a terra i?iCognita— lis origin, language, and habits strange 

to other people .' 871 

Natural perpetuation of the tribe— Mixed Gipsies hold by the connexion 372 

The prejudice of caste — A half-blood Spanish Gipsy captain 872 

An iron-master marries a Cinderella, 373— Civilized Gipsies in Mos- 
cow, and Scotland 874 

The Gipsies mix their blood— No full-blood Gipsies in Scotland. 874 

The Edinburgh Review and Blackwood's Magazine on the purity of 

Gipsy blood 874 

How G'ipsies shuffle on the point— The case of Ursula, in the Romany 

Rye n375 

The physical peculiarities cf mixed Gipsies 375, and other mixed races, 876 



548 INDEX 

PA OB 

Appearance of the half-blood captain — Tlr e Gipsies partial to fair hair, 377 
Mixed Gipsies common everywhere— Grellmann on the colour of 

Gipsies fi377 

American n)ixed Gipsies, 377 — The Gipsies receive males rather than 

females into their tribe 378 

How female Gipsies "manage" natives, when they marry them 378 

How Gipsies are brought up to adhere to their lace 379 

Remarks of Mr. George Oftbr on young female Gipsies generally.... «380 
Little difference if the father is a native — Town Gipsies visit the tent 

in their youth »380 

Fair-haired Gipsies, 381 — They are superior to the others— the two 

kinds will readily marry 7i382 

The peculiarities of black and fair Gipsies — The porhs asinorum of 

the Gipsy question 383 

The destiny of European like Gipsies, and of the tribe generally 383 

The philosophy of the mixture of Gipsy blood — The issue always 

Gipsy 384 

Mr. Borrow on the Spanish Gipwes generally. 

If no laws are passed against them 385 

Their social position, intermarriages, the law of Charles III. on the 

prejudice against the tribe .- 386 

Gipsyism like Freemasonry, w— Mrs. Fall's ancestral group of Gip- 
sies 387 

A Scotchman on the destiny of the Gipsies, S87— Nothing interferes 

with the question of tribe 388 

Scottish literati on the destiny of the Gipsies — A cloud of ignorance 

protects the tribe 71-388 

The Gipsies "declining," according to Mr. Borrow, 888 — His sin- 
gular inconsisteacies 389 

Change in the habits of Gitanos — The}' are to be found in Cuba, 

Mexico, and the United States 389 

Mr. Borrow leaves the question of the Spanish Gipsies where he 

found it 390 

The Gipsies "decreasing," by changing their habits, and inter- 
marriages 39C 

Gipsies ashamed of the name before the world — Two kinds of Gip- 
sies in Badajoz 391 

The law of Charles III., 892— Its real meaning— Causes of Spanish 

Gipsy civilization 393 

The law of Charles III. little more than nominal, 394 — The Church 

did not annoy the Gitanos 395 

Mr. Borrow's Spanish Gipsy authorities — The tribe the same in 

Spain as in Great Bi itain 39§ 

" Strangers" among English Gipsies, " foreign tinkers" among 

those in Spain 39G 

Mixed Gipsies in Spain — Persecutions against the Spanish and Scot- 
tish Gipsies 397 

The tinkers and Rothwelsh in the Austrian dominions 397 

The natural capacity of Gipsies — Opinions of Greliniann, Bischoff, 

Borrow 398 

Various classes of Gipsies, according to Mr. Borrow— Spanish, Turk- 
ish, and Russian , 399 

The original Scottish Gipsies, how they increased, mixed their 

blood, and spread 399 

Their internal polity and numbers, style of life, 400— How English 

Gipsies leave the tent 40 

The natural vicissitudes of an English Gipsy, after leaving the tent, 401 
Gipsy ambition, 401— John Bunyan's early "habits as described by 

-himself. .' ' n4U2 

The character cf Scottish Gipsies, and their opinion of themselves 
and tribe 40 



^ 



INDEX, 649 

PAQB 

Phases of history through which the Scottish Gipsies have passed, 402 
The vicissitudes in the history of a respectable Scottish Gipsv 

/ fairiily, settling in a town '. 404 

/ Gipsies among the best Edinburgh families — An enainent Scottish J 

I Gipsy clergyman 405 

V The Falls, of Dunbar, Gipsies — Burns visits them,7i, they are noticed ' 

in the Statistical Account of Scotland »406 

They divulge their tribe, over their cups — Will Faa their relative — 

The Scottish Gipsies claim them 406 

Their ancestors Gipsy kings— The Gipsy language in the family. . . 407 
Miss Fall, afterwards Lady Anstruther, her feelings — The other con- 
nexions of the Falls 408 

Mr. Sorrow's visit to, and description of, the Gipsies of Moscow : »408 

The Gipsies proud of their ancestors, though thieves and robbers 409 

Border and Highland thieves and robbers, 409 — Sir Walter Scott's 

ancestors »410 

Gipsy and Highland thieving — The McGregors and the Gipsies 411 

Fitz-James' address to Roderick Dhu, in the " Lady of the Lake". fi411 
A Gipsy is a Gipsy, whether barbarous, civilized, educated, or 

Chiistianized 412 

Pritchard on the Hungarian race, past and present 413 

Civilized Scottish Gipsies — W hat the*- say of themselves 414 

The Gipsies should be judged by a standard different from that ap- 

pl icable to ordinary natives 414 

The circumstances attending a wild Gipsy make him only half re- 
sponsible 414 

The race, in its development, should be more leniently treated 

L than others 415\ 
The antiquity of the Gipsies, they are probably the descendants of j 

the shepherd kings 41^ 

The confession of the Scotch clergyman unintelligible, unless fully 

explained 416 

What might be expected of the Gipsy tribe, the Scottish Gipsies 

especially 415 

Population of the Scottish Gipsies, and the British Gipsies generally 416 
The Gipsies are afraid of strange Gipsies, when at home — A French 

and German Gipsy in New York »416 

Scottish vagabonds, noticed by Fletcher of Saltoun, in 1680, were 

doubtless Gipsies »417 

Scottish Gipsy increase, since 1506, Sir Walter Scott's opinion on 

the destiny and number of the Scottish Gipsies, letter of James 

IV. to the king of Denmark in favour of Anthonius Gawioo, 

Gipsy trials, Gipsies banished and hanged, the descendants of the 

C Gipsies " prodigiously numerous" n418 
America, Gipsies banished to, 418— A Gipsy colony in New England- 
Colonial Gipsies would not likely take to the tent— Their occupations, 419 
European Gipsies in America, 420 — Arrival and modes of life of Eng- 
lish Gipsies 421 

Fortune-tellers : their mode of travelling, tricks, captures, and es- 
capes 422 

The Slave States naturally suitable to the Gipsies— Travelling Gip- 
sies in Canada 424 

Scottish Gipsies in the United States and Canada— Gipsies every- 
where 424 

Resemblance between the formation of Gipsydom and that of the 

United States 425 

The peculiar feelings of Gipsies— Ilighland and Lowland feuds — 

Gipsy resentment ;••••: .• • ^'^^ 

The nrejudice against the Gipsies compels them to hide their nationality 426 

What is it that frightens the educated Gipsies ? The word Gipsy 426 

In what other than a hidden state coulu wc expect to find the Gipsies? 427 



550 INDEX, 

FAOfl 

The diflSculty in discovering who are, and who are not, Gipsies, at the 
present day 428 

Gipsy blood changed into almost pure black, in Africa, as well as 
white, in Europe 428 

Gipsies found near the sources of the Senegal and Gambia n429 

The universality of the Gipsies — Meeting between English and Am- 
erican Gipsies 430 

Language of the Gipsies in England and Scotland— Rivalry in its pro- 
nunciation 431 

The construction of German and Spanish Gipsy, 431 — The purity 

of Hungarian Gipsy a432 

Respectable Scottish Gipsies, and the Gipsy language: "Are ye a' 

Tinklers ?" 432 

The Gipsy lauguai^e in America — In Spain n432 

The number of words sufficient for every-day use in any language, n432 
The Gipsy language in Great Britain mixed, but still serves the pur- 
poses of a speech 432 

The Scottish Gipsies the last to forget the language — The causes of 
its perpetuation 433 

Hatred of the Gipsies for other people — Mr. Borrow on that hatred.. nAZZ 
The treatment of the Gipsies made them worse than they might 

have been 434 

Gipsy gratitude, 434— Gipsy law — Borrow and Grellmanu on Gipsy 

ingratitude 435 

Unreasonableness of expecting much gratitude from Gipsies 435 

Gratitude among mankind generally — The nature of benefits con- 
ferred on Gipsies 435 

Means of improving the Gipsies — The feeling between them and the 
ordinary natives 436 

The name of Gipsy should be raised up, and the tribe respected ac- 
cording to merit 437 

Respectable Scottish Gipsies are Scotch people, and should come for- 
ward, and own themselves up 437 

The Zincali society in the city of New York w438 

An appeal to the Scottish Gipsies, 438, and to those in America 440 

The prejudices of British people against Gipsies, 440, and Americans 
against Negroes 441 

What is to be the future of the Gipsy race? — Gipsydora immortal . . 441 

The introduction of the Gipsies to the society of mankind, 442— The 
hereditary prejudice of centuries 443 

Missions among heathen and Jews, 443 — The Gipsies should, at least, 
be countenanced 444 

The Gipsies are Gipsies everywhere, and under all circumstances.. . . 444 

The way in which the Gipsies should be received into the society of 
other' people 445 

The Gipsies are a people that exist, and not such as disappear, like the 
American Indiads 446 

The popular idea of Gipsies and Jews — Gipsies that preach the gos- 
pel, and argue the law 447 

Erroneous ideas of writers generally as to the Gipsies — Mr. Borrow. 448 

The Gipsies a question of people — Billy Marshall and his descendants, 44^8 

No distinction has been made between race and habits, 44S — Cham- 
bers' Journal f»449 

The Gipsies compared to a clan, in the olden time — The McGregor 
clan 449 

English, American, and Gipsy races mixed, 450 — Mixed races illus- 
trated by individual families 451 

The mixture of Gipsy blood always leaves the issue Gipsy — Jewish 
Gipsies possible 451 

How the subject of the Gipsies has hitherto been treated — It is neces- 
sary to sound the mind of the Gipsy 452 



INDEX. 5B1 

The life of a superior Gipsy compared to a continual conspiracy 

against society 453 

The position occupied by the popular kind of Gipsy— His ideas on the 

persecutions of his race 453 

The condition from which all Gipsies have sprung — Popular preju- 
dices and ideas 454 

The introduction of German blood into Great Britain and America. . 454 
How the Gipsies have increased and spread — Native blood has been 

lost among them 455 

The introduction of Huguenot blood into Great Britain and America, 455 
The Gipsies have hitherto been "strangers in the laud," unacknowl- 
edged by others 456 

The principles of Gipsy nationality — Gipsies like Free-masons 45t> 

Gipsydom is not a creed, but a work stamped by Providence on the 

heart of the tribe 457 

Blood, language, a cast of mind, and signs specially constitute the 

Gipsy nationality 457 

The possession of a special religion not necessary to constitute a peo- 
ple distinct from others 457 

The same principle illustrated in races, clans, families, or individuals, 

living in the same community 458 

The existence of the Gipsies is natural, it resembles that of the Jews; 

neither is miraculous 453 

Philosophical historians on the existence of the Jews since the dis- 
persion 456 

By what human means can Jews cease to be Jews, individually or 

nationally ? 459 

A writer on the Christian Evidences, in describing the existence of 

the Jews, gambles away revelation 459 

His language on the subject of the Jews very applicable to the exist- 
ence of the Gipsies 459 

No outward difference between many Gipsy and native Scotch 460 

How Scottish Gipsies deport themselves on meeting— Civilized and 

huth Gipsies 460 

The general difference between Gipsy and native Scotch people 461 

A mixed Gipsy has sometimes " various bloods" to contend for 461 

"What Scottish Gipsies think of their ancestors and language 462 

The Scottish Gipsies, as they acquire education, become superior in 

character 462 

The children of civilized and barbarous Gipsies compared 468 

The singular position of the Gipsies, from generation to generation, 

and century to century 4fi4 

How the gulf between the Gipsies and the native race is to be bridged, 465 
The Gipsies, on their arrival in Europe, were barbarous, like other races 465 

A superior Scottish Gipsy in 1540, and 1840 466 

The Gipsies never were a nomadic race, in the ordinary sense of the 

Vs.^ word .•'.••• ^^^ 

General description of the occupations and characters of the original 

Gipsies 467 

The superior characters of the early Scottish Gipsy chiefs — Their treat- 
ment by the natives 467 

The character of a superior Spanish Gipsy, in 1584 . . *468 

Mixture of " the bloocl" on arrival, 468— Intermarriages under certain 

circumstances 469 

The plans of the Gipsies to secure their position in the country— Ille- 
gitimate children 469 

The attachment of Jewesses and Gipsies to their respective races 4'JO 

The protection of the Baillies, of Lamington, to the Gipsies of that 

/^ name 470 

/ Two Gipsies pardoned through the intercession of the Duchess of 

I Gordon..... 7 470 



/ Th 



652 INDEX. 

PAOl 

Scotland became the homo of the tribe, as much as that of the ordinary 
natives 471 

Effects of the mixture of Gipsy blood — Intermarriages among natives 
of different ranks 472 

The census need not be consulted for the number of the Gipsy popu- 
lation 472 

How the Jewish race is perpetuated — Their religion of secondary im- 
portance ! 473 

Christian Jews — Their feelings of nationality— No prejudices against 
them, or civilized Gipsies 474 

The rearing of Gipsies and Jews, in what respect they resemble each 
other 475 

The Gipsies stand towards religions, as Christianity does towards 
races 475 

The purity of Jewish blood a figment, 475 — What may be termed a 
** pure jew" 477 

The relative positions of Jews and Gipsies: Gipsies troublesome, but 
not scoffers at religion 477 

The want of a religion among the Gipsies— Their feelings in regard 
thereto 478 

The ways of Scottish Gipsies and Highland Scotch 478 

Scottish Gipsies are British subjects — Their romantic descent 479 

Tacitus' account of the destruction of the Druids, in the island of An- 
glesey 7i479 

The weak position of the Gipsies— Jewish and Gipsy literature 480 

The being a Gipsy, as distinguished from objectionable habits, im- 
material to the world 481 

The probable result of the word Gipsy being as much respected as it 
is now despised ^. 481 

The Gipsies originally a wandering, tented tribe, with habits peculiar 
to Itself 481 

The difficulties in the way of the tribe becoming settled and civilized. 482 

The manner in which the Gipsies gradually acquire honest habits. . . 482 

Public sympathy for the Gipsies, in preference to the Jews 483 

No prejudice should be entertained for well-behaved Gipsies 484 

The Jews are disliked, and are, to a certain extent, strangers every- 
where 484 

They are rebels against Heaven — " Which of the prophets have they 

not persecuted ?" 484 

The interest of the Christian in their history — Their crucifixion of 

the Messiah- -How they treat his mission 485 

Their antagonistic position towards every people and religion, 486 

— Their personal characters 487 

The destruction of Jerusalem confirmed the Jews in the idea that 

theirs was a scattered people 487 

The existence of the Jews, since the dispersion, not in itself won- 
derful 488 

The Jew's nationality is everywhere — His aversion to forsake his 

own race or community 488 

The Jews are a race — A Christian Jewish church possible — Its posi- 
tion and aspects 488 

The present position of Christian Jews, 488 — The relation of a 

Christian Jewish Church to the Mosaic law 489 

The scriptural idea of a Messiah— Christian Jews incog. — The con- 
version of Jews generally 489 

It is no elevated regard for Moses that prevents Jews entertaining 

the claims of Jesus Christ 490 

B«t rather the pheuomeua connected with the history of their race. 490 
The Jews exist under a spell— The prophecy of Moses regarding 

the Gipsies, n 491 

The Jews are not apt to notice the present work w491 



INDEX. 653 

PAGB 

The population of the Gipsies scattered over the world 491 

How the laws passed against the Gipsies were generally rendered 

nugatory 492 

Grellniann's estimate— The probable number of Gipsies in Europe 

and America 493 

The population of the Jews scattered over the world «493 

Christians delude the Jews in regard to the existence of their race 

being a miracle 493 

The Jew's idea of the existence of his race is the greatest bar to his 

conversion to Christianity 494 

The "mixed multitude" of the Exodus was doubtless the origin of 

the Gipsies 494 

The meaning of Gamaliel's advice— St. Paul before the Jewish 

council , »494 

The history of the Gipsies and the Jews greatly illustrate each other 496 

The distinction between an Englishman and an English Jew 496 

Persecutions of races generally— How to prevent a Gipsy being a 

Ginsy 496 

Tacitus on the religion of slaves «496 

Birth and rearing constitute Jews, Gipsiei, J.ud Gentiles 497 

Christian Jews persecuted by their own -ire The Disraeli and 

Cappadoce families . 497 

Christianity was not intended, nor is it capable, i,o i.estroy the na- 
tionality of Jews 498 

The Jew may be crossed out by intermarriage— The Gipsy absorbs 

other races 498 

Gipsies and Jews have each a peculiarly original and distinct soul 

of nationality 499 

Each race maintains its identity in the world, and may be said to 

be even eternal 499 

Comparison and contrast between Gipsies and Jews 499 

The existence of the Jews, like that of the Gipsies, rests upon a 

question of peojjle 501 

The religion of the Jews, 501 — Their idea of a Messiah 502 

Difference between Judaism and Christianity 502 

The position of Jews towards Christianity and other religions 502 

The persecutions of Jews and Gipsies— The extent of a Gipsy's 

wants 502 

The Jews show little regard for their religion, when tolerated and 

well treated 503 

The prejudice against Jews — Their ideas of their race, as distin- 
guished from others 503 

The treatment of Christians by Jews 504 v 

/ What has the Jew got to say to this subject generally ? 504 \ 

f 'She philosophy of the Gipsies'— Popular ideas in regard to them— A ^ J 

I mental phenomenon 505--' . 

^A regard to facts— The Gipsy language— Two races living on the ) 

/^ same soil 506 / 

/ The Gipsies hide their race— The kind of them that should be de- y 

I spised 506 

Y John Bunyan a Gipsy, whose blood was mixed 507 

All the Gipsies tinkers, either literally, figuratively, or representa- 

^- tively .' 507 

Lord Macaulay on Bunyan : " the tinkers a hereditary caste" 607 

In what respect are the tinkers a native " hereditary caste ?" ...... 507 

Characters in Mr. Borrow's Luvengro and Roman}' Rye — English 

Gipsies 508, »»509 

Prejudice against Gipsies— The legal responsibility — the Act of 

Queen Elizabeth 510 

Bunyan's tribe— His great desire to ascertain whetlier he was an 

Israelite 5l( 

24 



554 INDEX. 

PA6B 

A Gipsy family (309-818) that illustrates that of Bunyan 51 1 

The reason why Bunyan imagined he was a Jew 511 

The Jews not then tolerated in England — The curiosity of the Gip- 
sies regarding the Jews 511 

Southe}^ on tinkering and Bunyan's education — Bunyan had doubt- 
less a Gipsy pass 512 

The Dublin University Magazine on Bunyan's nationality 512 

The philosophy of race, and the prejudice of caste against the 

Gipsies 513 

Justice Keeling threatens to have Bunyan hanged for preaching.. . 71.513 
Bunyan u Gipsy beyond question — Lord Macaulay on the Pilgrim's 

Progress '. 514 

Religious writers averse to it being said that Bunyan was a Gipsy. . 514 
Sir Walter Scott and Mr. George Ofibr on Bunyan's tribe or nation- 
ality ; 515 

Bunyan's nationality unacknowledged, owing to popular ignorance 
and prejudice 515 

Southey on Bunyan's family and fame — The popularity of the Pil- 
grim's Progress 51G 

Bunyan's reserve — His friends and enemies — He cannot get justice 
done to him 517 

Bunyan and the Gipsy language — He was perhaps capable of writ- 
ing in it 517 

The prejudice of the present day— Bunsen on sound judgment and 
shallow minds, n 518 

The world should feel relieved by it being shown that Bunyan was 
a Gipsy 518 

Bunyan's pedigree — He had very probably no English blood in his 
veins 518 

The world claims Bunyan as a man ; England, the formation of his 
character 519 

Bunyan's biographers unjust to his memory — His general as well 
as moral character 519 

Though pious and peaceable, he yet repelled slanders with indigna- 
tion 520 

The style of Bunyan's language indicates the Gipsy in some degree. 520 

The indignities cast upon Bunyan — The way in which he treated 
them .' 521 

Remarks upon Bunyan's enemies, who professed themselves to be 
servants of Christ n521 

The prejudice of caste in Great Britain exists against the Gipsies 
exclusively 521 

The day is gone by when it cannot be said who John Bunyan was. 523 
Scantiness of information in Mr. Borrow's works on the subject of 

the Gipsies •.•••.•• ^23 

American people are not expected to indulge in the popular prejudice 

against the Gipsies 624 

American religio"-.3 journals decline to entertain the question : " Was 

John Bunyan a Gipsy ?" 525 

The peculiarities of Scottish people unfavourable to the Gipsies 

owning themselves up in Scotland 626 

The nature of Scottish quarrelsomeness, 526 — The classes favourable 

and unfavourable to the Gipsies 527 

A "model Scot," after his kind, 528 — No one in particular to blame 

for the position occupied by the Gipsies 629 

The Gipsy subject interesting, and not necessarily low or vulgar, 

though more or less barbarous • .^. ,» 629 

The wild Gipsies should be reached indirectly— Their high opinion 

of themselves 529 

John Bunyan's celebrity — His name of great use in raising up that 

of the Gipsies ' 530 



INDEX. 655 

PAOB 

A little judgment is necessary in dealing with wild or any kind of 

Gipsies 530 

The peculiar sensations felt in coming in contact with wild Gipsies. . 531 

Gipsies are Gipsies to the last drop of the original blood 532 

The history of the Gipsies a singular work of Providence 532 

It would have been a miracle had the Jews been lost among mankind. 533 
What u miracle is — The existence of the Jews is in exact harmony 

with every natural law '. 533 

A prophecy of Moses regarding a people who are to provoke and 

anger the Jews 533 

A thousand years hence the Gipsies will be found existing in the world 534 
A word or two to the Gipsies, and especially the Scottish Gipsies .. . 534 
A word or two to the Church, and people generally: "Was John 

Bunyan a Gipsy V" 535 

The reason why we know so little about the Gipsies 536 

A word or two to some of the critics 537 

A criticism on the present work, while in prospect 537 

1)ISRAEL1, the present, a Jew, though a Christian 497 

DIVORCE CEREMONIES OP THE GIPSIES, AND SACRIFICE OF 

HORSES, 
The Gipsies not licentious in their personal morals— They are strict 

with their wives, in the matter of ciiastity 266 

Divorces among the Gipsies are attended with much grief and mourn- 
ing 267 

Natural that the Gipsies should have as singular a form of divorce as 

that of marriage 267 

The nature of sacrifices— Their universality among mankind 267 

Why was the Gipsy sacrifice of the horse not known in Scotland be- 
fore ? 267 

The Gipsies have a great affection for the horse — They will not eat of 

that aninnU, n 268 

Writers have made no discovery, among the Gipsies, of a religious 

nature 268 

The Gipsy sacrifice of the horse a proof that the people come from 

Hindostan 268 

The idea of Gipsies being Tartars strengthened by their sacrifice of 

the horse 269 

Other nations who have sacrificed horses— The Jews in the time of 

Josiah, n 269 

Popular tradition, among the natives, that Gipsies separated over dead 

horses 270 

Instances accidentally and partially noticed by the natives 270 

" Patricos'' performed ceremonies over dead horses, in England, prior 

to 1674 : 271 

Preliminary remarks on the sacrifice of horses—" The sua must be at 

its height" 271 

A description of the ceremony of sacrifice and divorce 272 

The horse considered in the place of the woman, 272— Sometimes 

both are sacrificed 278 

The woman dismissed, with a bill of divorce— The husband and his 

friends then eat the heart of the horse 274 

- The husband may marry again, but the wife never 274 

Her fate, if she loses her bill of divorce, or passes herself off at never 

having been married 274 

Spanish Gipsy widows, according to Dr. Bright »'.i74 

A Gipsy, in a passion, shoots his horae, and performs the ceremony of 

divorce, forthwith 274 

The sacrifice of the horse observed by the Gipsies in Russia 27.S 

They do it in tfie woods, under night, for fear of the police 275 

The Gipsies, of Yetholm, knock down their asses, when they soj»a- 

rate from their wives 276 



556 INDEX, 

PAOI 

The sacrifice of the horse in ancient India, known as the Asmmmeed 
Jugg 276 

The explanation of the mystic meaning contained in that sacrifice . . . 277 

The very acme and enthusiasm of allegory in an Asiatic genius 279 

The ancient Hindoo sacrifice of the horse and the scape-goat of the 

Jews compared 279 

The Gipsy and ancient Hindoo sacrifice of the horse compared 279 

Both offered to the sun — Travelling Gipsies change their names at 

noon 280 

Robert Southey and Colonel Tod on the sacrifice of the horse in 

India 280 

The sacrifice of the horse by the Gipsies, a proof that the people came 

from India 280 

DRESS OF THE GIPSIES, 43, 77, 79, 108, 116, 129, 145, 149, 154, 157, 
162, 171, 177, 182, 186, 197, 202, 209, 213, 214. 

DRUIDS, destruction of the, in the Island of Anglesey »479 

DUBLIN UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE. 

The number of words sufficient for every-day use, in any language . »»432 

Bunyan's nationalitv : " Was John Bunyan a Gipsv " 512 

EDINBURGH REVIEW," The, on the purity of Gipsy blood-^Mr. Bor- 

row's '* Gipsies in Spain " 374 

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION. 

The discovery and history of barbarous races illustrate the history of 

man, and natural and revealed religion 27 

Barbarism within, and barbarism without, the circle of civilization,. 27 
The Gipsies an anomaly in the history of civilization, and merit great 

consideration 27 

European civilization progressive, and homogeneous in its nature ... 28 
Asiatic civilization stationary and, in some countries, divided into 

castes 28 

The nature of caste in India, 28 — The natives of certain parts of 

Oceanic Asia 29 

The condition of the most original kind of Gipsies, in Great Britain — 

Their secrecy 29 

Description of Gipsy life in England, by Dr. Bright 30 

The first appearance of the Gipsies in Europe — Attempts at elucidat- 
ing their history 31 

The political state of Europe at the beginning of the fifteenth century 31 
The great schism in the church — Three Popes reigning at one time . . 32 

The educational and social condition of Europe about that time 33 

The manner in which the Gipsies stole into Europe 35 

The influx of the Greeks into Europe— The literary pursuits of the 

age, 37— English travellers 38 

The Gipsies not Sudras — Timour — The Gipsies at Samarcand pre- 
vious to his invasion of India 39 

The Gipsies did not obtain the name of Egyptians from others, as 

Mr. Borrow supposes . . 39 

The Gipsies are not the Egyptians mentioned by the Prophet Ezekiel, 40 
What misleads writers in their ideas that the Gipsies are not Egypt- 
ians 41 

The relative position borne by the early Gipsies to the rarious classes 

of society 41 

The travelling Gipsies much fallen below those of the olden times ... 43 
The dread alvvays entertained for the tribe, 44— Fiie-raising and child- 
stealing 45 

The Gipsies frighten children, 46— -And act as police, or scare-crows, 

for farmers 47 

The ferocity of Gipsy women, 47 — Sir Walter Scott's recollections of 

the original of Meg Merrilies 48 

The intercourse between the tribe and the farmers, in pastoral dis- 
tricts 48 



i 



INDEX. mi 



Tke timidity of the Gipsies, when accosted under certain circum- 
stances 49 

Comparison between Africans, in America, and the Gipsy race gen- 
erally 50 

Some of the causes of the isolation of the Gipsies from the rest of the 
world 51 

The history of the Gipsies somewhat illustrated by that of the Am- 
erican Indians 53 

The prejudice against Africans and Gipsies contrasted 54 

EDITOR'S PREFACE. 

When this work should have been published— It has been brought 
down to the present time •. 5 

Inducements to hazard a publication of it at one time 5 

Sir Walter Scott's judicious advice regarding the publication of the 
work 5 

The abuse of reviewers and the ire of wandering Egyptians deprecated 5 

Mr. Sorrow's publications since this- work was written i 

Scottish Church Gipsy mission — Scottish Gipsy clergyman of eminence 6 

The Gipsies have increased since the peace of 1815, but have retired 
from observation 6 

The reason for this work being published in America — Popular preju- 
dice against the Gipsies 6 

Scottish antiquaries — Their apathy and contempt for the subject of 
the Gipsies »7 

The present work illustrates the Gipsies everywhere — The subject 
hardly known to the world 7 

Tinkler the name generally applied to the Scottish Gipsies — tinker a 
Gipsy word , 1*7 

The subject interesting — Observation necessary to solve the problem. 8 

Professor Wilson travels with the Gipsies — The author's associations 
with them 8 

The nomadic Gipsies only a part of the race, 8 — The blood of the tribe 
much mixed — Causes thereof. 9 

Persecutions—Children stolen and incorporated with the tribe— Mr. 
Borrow's remarks thereon, n9 

Prejudices against the Gipsies — Their love of race and language 10 

The primitive state of the tribe — Causes and manner of leaving the 
tent 10 

Associations after leaving the tent, and feelings towards the com- 
munity 11 

Their resentment of the popular prejudice — Their boast of ancestry. . 11 

Ideas and feelings of the natives, 12 — The Gipsy's love of language — 
His associations 13 

Speculations on the origin of the Gips es, 13 — They are the " mixed 
multitude" of the Exodus • 14 

Mode of escape from Egypt, IT— Entrance into India, and formation 
of their character as a people 21 

Their present language acquired in India — Mr. Borrow's remarks on 
its antiquity ^ 23 

The philosophy of the preservation of the Gipsy language in Europe 
till now 88 

Sir Walter Scott's intended account of the Gipsies— The diflficulty as 
to their language 25 

He urges the publication of the present work— Its character as a his- 
tory of the tribe 25 

It is a contribution towards the filling up of a void in literature 25 

EDUCATION AMOxN'G THE Gn\SIES 65, 125, 248, 254, 803, 364, 369 

EGYPT. 

The Gipsies originated in, 14, 39— They are the "mixed multitude" 
of the Exodus 14. 494 



558 INDEX. 



ENGLISH GIPSIES. 

Their arrival about the year 1512 — A description of them in a work, 

published in 1G12 90 

Act of 22d Henry VIII. — Burnet's allusion to English Gipsies, in lo49 91 
Act of 27th Henry VIII. — A tine of forty pounds for every Gipsy im- 
ported 91 

Act of Queen Elizabeth — Felony for strangers to associate with the 

Gipsies 92 

Last of the executions under Charles II. — The Gipsies still liable under 

the Vagrant Act 92 

Number of Gipsies in England during the time of Queen Elizabeth. . 92 
Estimate of their present number, by Mr. Hoyland, and a member of 

parliament 92 

Author's remarks, and editor's comments thereon »93 

Mr. Borrow's description of the English Gipsies, and the English 

dialect spoken by them f»93 

English Gipsies travel in Scotland — A description of a camp of them 93 

Adventure of a Scotchman among the Gipsies in England 95 

Crime among the English Gipsies — Report on the prisons in North- 
umberland 96 

Sketch of an English Gipsy family arriving in Scotland, by Sir Wal- 
ter Scott 96 

EXECUTIONS AMONG THE GIPSIES So, 119, 133, 143, 201, 513 

FALLS, Merchants, of Dunbar, Gipsies 108, 237-241, 251, 252, 406 

Will Faa, the Gipsy king, claims them as his relatives w238, 251 

FARMERS. 

Their property protected by the -Gipsies 47, 363, 434 

How they sometimes treat \be Gipsies . .48, 55, 56, 187, 7»179, 220, 221, 226, 

242, 361 
FIFE AND STIRLINGSHIRE GIPSIES. 

The county of Fife contained, at one time, a great many nomadic 

Gipsies , 140 

The tribe, at one time, possessed a foundry near St. Andrews, called 

*' Little Carron " 140 

Lochgellie Gipsies more particularly described 140 

Description of Lochgellie and other places, illustrative of Gipsy quar- 
ters, in olden times 140 

Description of Falkland " scrapies " 7il40 

Principal names of Lochgellie Gipsies and their connexions 141 

The tribe feared all over the shires of Fife, Kinross, Perth, Angus, 

and Aberdeen 141 

Old Charles Graham — '^ The auld thing again, my lord, but nae proof" 142 
His wife banished to Botany Bay — Marries a Gipsy there, and returns 

rich 142 

Young Charles Graham apprehended— His irritation at the crowd 
staring at him — He steals a farmer's horse, sells it, steals it again, 
and returns it to the original owner, 142 — Robs a factor, and gives 
the money to a needy widow — He is apparently penitent at the gal- 
lows, 143— But kicks off" his shoes, and addresses the people 144 

Hugh Graham stabbed by John Yonng, who is hunted like a fox, 

before he is apprehended 145 

Jenny Graham leaves her protector, to follow the gang, and take 

care of its stolen articles 146 

Margaret Graham, a woman of uncommon bodily strength 145 

John Young, who stabbed Hugh Graham, although five feet ten inches 

in height, is called by his mother, " The dwarf o' a' my bairns" .. . 145 
Peter Young, a generous man — He breaks out of many prisons before 

he is hanged 145 

Old John Young, on being asked where his sons were, replied, " They 

are all hanged " : 145 

Charles Brown, killed in a Gipsy battle at Kaploch, near Stirling 147 



INDEX. 560 

pAoa 

Alexander Brown steals and carries off" an ox in disguise 148 

Billj Marshall robs the Laird of Bargallj, and saves an innocent man 

from the gallows nl48 

He is nearly fiightened out of his wits, under very ludicrous circum- 
stances nl48 

Alexander Brown's capture and audacious escape — His style when in 
full dress, 149 — Uis disguise as a mounted man of quality, 150 — 
His capture by Highlanders, and desperate resistance, and execu- 
tion i5l 

Martha, mother of Alexander Brown, steals sheets while attending 

his execution 152 

William Brown is run down by the military — His threatened rescue 
by the tribe — He sets fire to' the jail, but is put in irons by a soldier 

—His execution 152 

Lizzie Brown, in a Gipsy fray — " In the middle o' the meantime, 

Where's my nose ?" 158 

The connexions of the Gipsies, and the ramifications of their society, 153 
Charles Stewart— His royal blood, style of dress, and audacity of con- 
duct 153 

Grcllmann's description of the attire of a Gipsy »154 

The unabashed hardihood of Gipsies in the face of suspicion »155 

Jamie Robertson, a great musician — He resents an imagined affront 

to an absent friend 155 

His wife sentenced to Botany Bay, but, owing to her advanced age, 

set at liberty 156 

Joyce Robertson's daring robbery while in prison — His deliberate 

escape — He steals a watch, and has the crowd at his heels 156 

Charles Wilson, very respectable in his appearance and character, as 
a horse-dealer, 157 — Received and vended stolen goods through the 
country — Was chief of his tribe, and, as such, issued passes, 158 — 
He returns money stolen from a young countryman — Becomes re- 
duced to poverty in his old age, and dies in full communion with 

the church 161 

Tharles Wilson's daughters — One of them kept by an Adjutant — Their 

disguises and pilferings — The Brae Laird of Kinross-sbire 162 

Stirlingshire Gipsies contributed their full share to the gallows 163 

The Gipsies a predatory tribe originally — Two kinds of them at the 

present day 164 

Other peoiile robbers besides the Gipsies — Spartans, Abyssinians, 

Moors, East Indians, Coords, Kamtschadales, Scotch, n 164 

Training of the Gipsies to theft by the women, 167— A Gipsy picks a 

countryman's pocket with great dexterity 168 

Thieves formed into bands— Modes of operation, and division of the 

spoil 169 

Vidocq on the pilfering habits of the Continental Gipsies 7il6ft 

Male Gipsies cut purses with palms, the females with rings 170 

Mode of thieving among the Gipsies in Hungary 171 

A magistrate, in the West of Fife, locks up the Gipsies during the fair 171 

Stylish habits of the Gipsies at the inn of tlie North Queensferry 171 

Fashionable cavalcade of female Gipsies departing from the ferry . . . 173 
Intimacy between the boatmen and their friends—" The lads that 

take the purses " 173 

Trick of a gillie of a Gipsy horse-dealer, played upon an Highlander. 173 

Counterfeiting — An audacious Gipsy counterfeiter 174 

The Gipsies not murderers -They are accurate in their journeys and 

halting places 175 

Pursuit, captupp, escape, and recapture of a (»ipsy murderer 17ft 

ludecent trick of a Gipsy woman to obtain clotnes from the natives.. 177 
A handsomoiy dressed female Gipsy, from gratitude, saves a native 

from destruction 177 

Old Will of riiaup's live years' war with the Gipsies nl79 



560 INDEX. 

PAM 

Gipsy Dances — Charles Stewart, 179 — George Drammond — Gipsy 

dance at Moscow 180 

Afghan dance w— George Drummond a singular Gipsy 181 

James Robertson, his wife, and sisters dance like bacchanalians 182 

Occupations, amusements, cock-fighting, dress, and generous habits 

of the Gipsies 182 

The Gipsies sometimes attend church, and baptize their own children 183 
Their disputes with clergymen on points of morals — Government— di- 
vision of property 183 

A landed gentleman went off with the Gipsies, 183 — His daughters 

common Gipsies 184 

FIGHTING AMONG THE GYP^YE&-{See also Battles.) 125, 144, 1^8, »193, 

wlOo, :iUG, 215, 253 

FLETCHER OF SALTOUN on Scottish vagabonds, in 1 680 Tilll, nA\1 

FORTUNE-TELLING. 

Fortune-telling women frighten the natives of the other sex 47 

See Tweed-dale Gipsies 228-231 

Fortune-telling in America — See Disquisition on the Gipsies 422 

FREEMASONRY AND THE GIPSIES 12, 13, 347, w3t)0, 386, 7i387, 456 

GEN TOO CODE OF LAWS IN ANCIENT INDIA. 

Division of plunder among thieves 165 

The elder mariied before the younger, 259 — Sacrifice of the horse, 

268 — The scape-goat among the Jews 279 

GERMANS, how they become lost in the population of Great Britain and 

America 454 

GERMANY, Gipsy bands in 79 

GITANO, modification of the term »115 

GORDON, THE DUCHESS OF, saves two Gipsies from the gallows .... 470 
GOVERNMENT AMONG THE GIPSIES, 78, «103. 183. 187, 218, 253, w.256, 422 
GRATITUDE OF THE GIPSIES FOR OTHER PEOPLE, ..63, 130, 138, 155, 
164, 177, 187, 198, 211, 222, 225, 241 360, 434, 483 
GRELLMANN. 

Children frightened by the Gipsies n46, 75 

On the destiny of the'French Gipsies 76, 492 

He divides the Gipsies in Transylvania into four classes, 74 — The 

population of the Gipsies 77, 493 

Gipsy government, 78— Attire, 7il54— Plundering, 171— Fighting nl93 

Gipsies under and after punishment «204 

The habit of Gipsy women after childbirth 7?227 .^ 

Gipsy working in iron — Gipsy smiths in Hungary 7^234 

The Gipsies will eat of any animal but a horse 7j268 

The secrecy of the Gipsies in the matter of their language 7»2Sl<*» 

The Gipsy language unintelligible to the common natives 72298 

On the education of Hungarian Gipsies «303 

The origin of the idea that the Gipsies came from India 329 

On the variations in the Gipsy language in different countries n339 

How the Gipsies resist the extremes of the weather »»354 

The circumstances under which Gipsy women are confined 7?357 

The physical properties of the Gipsy race n3o8 

Gipsies as soldiers, /?3o9— As spies »360 

The religion of the Gipsies, «366— Their civilization 7*867 

On the colour and appearance of Gipsies who change their habits. . . n577 

The natural capacity of Gipsies, 398— Gipsy ingratitude 435 

Gipsies " always merry and blithe " 483 

HALE, SIR MATTHEW 

His touching interview with Bunyan's wife 7i318 

He mentions the execution of thirteen Gipsies, at the Suffolk assizes, n5l3 
HATRED OF THE GIPSIES FOR OTHER PEOPLE, ....63, 130, 164, 177, 

See Disquisition 43^-436 

HEBER, BISHOP, notices the Gipsies in India, Persia, Russia, and Ene- 

laud 41, 77 



INDEX. 861 

HINDUSTAN, the Gipsies supposed to originate in ... .13, 38, 40, 65, 268, 280, 

329, 339 
HOGG, JAMES 

Motto— T'i^^ page. 

He notices a Gipsy scuffle and murder in Blackwood's Magazine. .... 216 

He savs that Lochmaben is " stocked " with Gipsies »381 

fiOYLAND, JOHN. 

The religious character of the Gipsies 73 

The capacity of the early Gipsies, 7i99 — English Gipsy surnames .... «219 

Baillie Smith, of Kelso — Report on the Yetholm Gipsies ... 245 

The difficulty in Gipsies acquiring settled habits 7i368 

Mr. George Offor says he was Icil captive by a Gipsy girl w380 

HUGUENOTS introduced into England and America 455 

HUME, BARON. 

Scots acts of 1603, and 1609, against the Gipsies Ill 

Executions among the Gipsies, under these sanguinary laws 117, »418 

Trial of two Gipsies, in 1786, 139— Baillie, in 1714, 204— And Pinker- 
ton, in 1726 : 207 

He would make the black eyes evidence against the Gipsies 341 

HUNGAlilANS, past and present, 413— They know nothing of their 

origin *. 495 

HURD, DR. 

The appearance of the Gipsies when they first arrived in Paris 70 

The Gipsies called spies of the Turks »72 

Marriage customs among the Russians, and Christians of Mesopo- 
tamia and Chaldea »262 

IMPROVEMENT OF THE GIPSIES.. 364, 367, 415, 436, 440, 443, 445, 529, 534 
INTRODUCTION. 

Attention directed towards the Gipsies by the publication of Guy 

Mannering 55 

The classes interested — A mission founded by the Scottish Church 

among the Gipsies 55 

Articles sent to Blackwood's Magazine — Letters from Mr. Blackwood 56 
Article by Sir Walter Scott on the Buckhaven fishermen— The zeal 

of an antiquary n57 

Letters from Sir Walter Scott, and Wilham Laidjaw 58-61 

The Scottish Gipsies a branch of the same tribe to be found in every 

country 61 

Comparisons between the Gipsies and Jews — The Jews' letters to Vol- 
taire 61 

Discontinuation of articles in Blackwood's Magazine— The author's 

authorities 64 

The difficulties in the way of a research into the subject of the Gip- 
sies 65 

A " Blowing up " from a Gipsy chief 65 

Notice from Professor Wilson, in Blackwood's Magazine, and Sir 

Walter Scott, in Quentin Durward 66 

INVERKEITHLXG, Gli^SY SCENES AT . . 284, 288, 292, 293, 298, 302, 304, 

32tJ, 828, 348, 353, 355 

IRISH GI PSIES IN SCOTLAND 6, 93, 324-329, 356, 493 

JEWS, THE 

The Gipsies the •' mixed multitude" that left Egypt with the Jews 14, 494 

Circumstances under which the Jews left Egypt 14-21 

They were separated from the Egyptians by the prejudice of caste.. 15 

They termed Jesus Christ " Beelzebub " — the prince of devils 16 

Their reception of Christ as the Messiah 16 

Their condition while in Egypt 17 

Their contemptuous description of the " mixed multitude" that fol- 
lowed them 19 

Their circumstances after leaving Egypt, 20— The destiny that awaited 
them 21 



662 INDEX. 

PAO> 

Comparisons between the Jews and the Gipsies 55, 61, 62 

Letters of the Jews to Voltaire — The universality and differences in 

the Jews «61 

They change their names in various countries nll7 

The elder sister married before the younger, 259— Jewish marriages. 260 
When they blow rams' horns in September, they imagine they drive 

away the devil »265 

They dedicated horses to the sun, in the time of Josiah »269 

Hindoo sacrifice of the horse and the scape-goat in Leviticus com- 
pared 279 

The language of the Jews during the seventy years' captivity «318 

The Gipsies dislike the Jews, /i358, 452— Jews during time of war . . wS60 

Neglect of women among Jews— A Jew's morning prayer «.365 

Jews and Gipsies compared in a sermon by Mr. Borrow »366 

They marry among themselves, like the Gipsies 369 

The money that is squandered on the conversion of Jews 443 

The subject of the Jews more or less familiar to people from infancy 447 
The Gipsies, without any necessary outwifrd< peculiarities, have yet a 

nationality, like the Jews 447, 457 

The mixture of Gipsy and Jewish blood — A Jewish Gipsy possible . . 451 
In what respect the existence of the Gipsies differs from that of the 

Jews 458 

Philosophical historians on the existence of the Jews since the dis- 
persion 458 

No analogy between the Jews and any other people but the Gipsies. . 459 
A Christian writer on the existence of the Jews since the dispersion. 459 
His description thereof, though erroneous, very applicable to the 

Gipsies 460 

The attachment of Jewesses and Gipsies to their respective races 470 

How the Jewish race is perpetuated — Religion of secondary import- 
ance 473 

Jewish Christians — Their feelings of nationality, and social position . 474 
The rearing of Gipsies resembles that of Jews — The purity of Jewish 

blood a figment 475 

Half-blood Jews sometimes follow the synagogue, and sometimes the 

Christian church 476 

Many Jews who are not known to the world as such 477 

Jewish physiogomy — What may be termed a " pure Jew " 477 

The relative position of Jews and Gipsies 477-480 

The Jews have a church, a history, and a literature 480 

Public sympathy for the Gipsies, in preference to the Jews 483 

The philosophy of the existence of the Jews since the dispersion — See 

Disquisition on, the Gipsies 484-505 

John Bunyan asked himself whether he was of the Israelites 511 

The Jews readmitted into England, under Cromwell — Manasseh Ben 

Israel 511 

The natural curiosity of the Gipsies regarding the Jews 611 

The Gipsies have existed, in Europe, a greater length of time than 

the Jews dwelt in Egypt 532 

It would have been a miracle had the Jews been lost among man- 
kind 533 

A prophecy of Moses regarding a people who are to provoke and 

anger the Jews «491, 533 

I-AIDLAW, WILLIAM 

His letter to the author, 58 — A Gipsy " blowing up," alluded to by 

him 65, 3<)9 

LANGUAGE OF THE GIPSIES. 
/ The love of Gipsies for their language, 10, 13— Thev keep it a pro- 

V. found secret '. 12,13^ 

It is for the most part Hindostauee— Mr. Borrow's remarks on its 
antiquity 23 



INDEX, 568 

PAAB 

The philosophy of the preservation of the Gipsy lancjuage . . 24, 408, 438 

The Scottish Gipsies very reserved and tenacious in the iratter of 
their language 281 

Its existence, but as slang, scarcely credited by people of the greatest 
intelligence 281 

Grellnianu, Bright, and Borrow on the difficulties in acquiring the 
Gipsy language n281 

The Gipsies have excellent memories, but shuffle when bored by 
people of whom they expect money n282 

The causes of the reserve among the Scottish Gipsies : 1st. The san- 
guinary laws. 2d. The popular prejudice, od. Their natural se- 
crecy 282 

A Scottish Gip.sy works all his life in a shop, and no one discovers 
him to be a Gipsy 283 

Two Gipsy women nearly killed by colliers, for not explaining the 
meaning of two Gipsy words 283 

As the Gipsies become civilized, they avoid intercourse with the 
barbarous part of the race . . n283 

The Scottish peasantry, in some places, do not greatly despise the 
Gipsies w284 

The use of the Gipsy language in markets — The pride of the people 
as linguists 284 

Seven years' trouble in getting a Gipsy woman to own up to her lan- 
guage 284 

She isafraid the public would treat her with horror and contempt, 
for knowing the language 285 

The character of Spanish Gipsy women, according to Mr. Borrow. . . n285 

A Gipsy woman maintains she was speaking Latin, when discovered 
conversing in Gipsy 285 

The general dilliculties in the way of acquiring the Gipsy language. . 286 

The way in which the author learned what he knew of the Gipsy 
language 286 

How the use of Gipsy affected the tribe— Ludicrous scenes 287 

How old Gipsy women were affected — " You are no gentleman, sir, 
otherwise you would not insult us in that way " 288 

A woman, in a dreadlul passion, threatens the author with apprehen- 
sion, as the head of a baud of thieves, for asking her, if her chavo 
(son) vvjis a du)r (thief) 288 

A female Gipsy "blabs" with the author, but expresses great sur- 
prise, when addressed in Gipsy, before a third i)arty 288 

These people afraid of the sanguinary laws passed against th<j tribe . 290 

Sir Walter Scott's advice in prosecuting an enquiry into the Gipsy 
language 291 

The Scottish Gipsies a branch of the tribe to be found everywhere.. . 291 

A Gipsy as distinguished from his language — The race comes before 
the speech i292 

An old woman and her tvvo daughters — " No harm in the least, sir, 
in speaking the Gipsy language " apeciryi^ns 292 

Two girls, of the name of Janiieson — "You gentlemen understand 
all languages now-a-davs " fipecim^ns 292 

Four or Bve children — " Vou are a Gipsy, yourself, sir, or you never 
could have got these words " epccinuiu 298 

Ruthven addresses her child in Gij)sy — " I know that tne public are 
trying to find out the secrets of the Gipsies, l)ut it is in vain " 298 

The threats of the inbe against those teaching the language to 
" strangers " f^294 

A female Gipsy, with three or four children, begging—" Curjje you, 
take the road" — " Mother, mother, come away "—An innkeeper 

anxious to learn the words that dismiss importumito beggars 294 

Young Andrew Steedman, of Lochgellie, comniuiiicative— Old Andrew 
shakes and trenibles in his stable—'' Kob that person ".. .epeci/iwns 295 



664 INDEX. 

FIOI 

The woman who baffled the author for seven years — " It is in our 
hearts, and as long as a single Tinkler exists, it will be remem- 
bered " specimens 296 

A woman and four children — " You know quite well what he says" — 
" I am sure he is a tramper, and can speak as good cant as any of 

us " specimens 298 

A brother and a cousin of the Jamieson girls — " So I saw, for ... . 
he understood what I said " — " To show you I am no impostor, I 
will give you the names of everything in your house " — " My speech 
is not the cant of packmen, nor the slang of common thieves .... 301 

Gipsy-hunting like deer-stalking — Modern Gipsy-hunting 302 

Jamieson returns — " I have been bred in that line all my life — You 
are welcome to as many as you please " — " We can converse and 
have a word for everything in our speech " — He sings a song in 
English, and turns it into Gipsy — " Had I, at first, been aware you 
did not know my speech, 1 would not have given you a word 

of it " specijnens 304 

The songs composed by the Gipsies illustrate their plunderiugs, rob- 
beries and sufferings, and quarrels among themselves 306 

The Gipsies very fond of the Border marauding songs — " Hughie the 

Graeme," as a specimen 308 

Sophia Scott, afterwards Mrs. Lockhart, sings " Hughie the Graeme " 

to the author, at Abbotsford »308 

Sir Walter Scott interested in the Gipsies — He is afraid they might 

injure his plantations i*309 

The author visits St. Boswell's fair, and becomes acquainted with a 

Gipsy family there 309 

He introduces himself by saying who his ancestors were — " God 
bless you ! Ay, those days are gone ; Christian charity has now 

left the land " 309 

The head of the family a very superior man ; merry and jocular, 

lite many of his race 809 

Their language — " The Tinklers have no language of their own, 

except a few cant words " 310 

The author addresses them in Gipsy — " Preserve me, he kens a' 

about us !" 310 

He enumerates their clan — " Say not another word, but call at *' 310 

The surprise among the natives — " Yon was queer looking wark 

wi' the Tinklers " 310 

An innkeeper ashamed, or afraid, of a customer that is a gentle- 
man 311 

A little factory of horn-spoons—*' No such language exists, except a 

few cant words " 311 

Gipsy obstinacy — The word *' Gipsy " a terror to the tribe — The 

Gipsy forfeits his promise 311 

Laughter from another apartment — The Gipsy starts to his fftet, and 
takes hold of the author — " Farewell, I will know you when I 

see you again " 311 

RjBvisit to the factory of horn-spoons — The Gipsy ashamed to give 

his language SIJ 

A prorjiise of secrecy — The Gipsy cheerful, he hesitates, but at last 

fulfills his oath »pe^^men$ 312 

Circumstances illustrative of the history of the family of John 

Bunyan . . nSlS 

The Gipsies a tribe of Ethiopian thieves and robbers, 315 — The 
pronunciation of their speech — It is copious, but not written — 
*' So long as there exist two Gipsies in Scotland, it will never be 

lost "... 316 

Gipsy horse-dealers — " Several thousand in Scotland acquainted 

with the Gipsy tongue " 316 

The children of Gipsies instructed iii Gipsy, from their infancy — 



INDEX. 565 

PAOf 

Their pride in their lanscuage 316 

The character of an intelligent Gipsy chief 316 

The Gipsy sings a song in Gipsy— The Gipsies have doubtless an 
oral literature n 317 

A great alarm in the family, 317 — " Give to the world what had 

been theirs for 350 years " 318 

Smith on the language of the Jews during the captivity — How the 

Gipsy tribe willrelish the present work * »318 

A tinker at Grangemouth— " Yes, the dog is not bad "—" What do 

you mean ? I don't understand you — Yes, the dog is hairy " 319 

Thimbling Gipsies—*' Chee, chee,'' (hold your tongue)—" But, sir, 

what was that you said to them, for they seem afraid ?" 319 

The author taken for a Thimbler— " 1 tell ye, woman, the man you 

spoke to was nothing but one of these villains " «321 

A Thimbler's sign — " Where can you find a shop without a sign ? 

and Where's the other person that gets a sign from the public*for 

nothing ? " »321 

Thimblei s' traps, 321— A victim drowns himself 322 

Thimblers' conversation—" Bloody swells " — " I will require three 

men to take care of that boat " 323 

Is that man a Gipsy ? — " Ask himself, sir " 323 

An old thimbling Gipsy attempts to inveigle some youths on Arthur's 

Seat — " Was'nt he a slippery old serpent^ after all? " n323 

The science of thimbling, nZ2\ — Thimble riggers, and their ancestry 

— Ancient Egyjttian thimbling n 325 

English, Scottish, and Irish Gipsies speak the same language, and 

assist each other, when they meet 324 

An Irish Gipsy f\imilv — An ass bearing a "bundle of bones" — 

" Good-day, sir, God' bless you " 326 

Two Irish Gipsies in court—" Three days, and be banished the 

town " 326 

A Gipsy wife a go-between — " The scoundrel shall lie in prison till 

the last hour of his sentence " 327 

An escape, and a " banishing the town," 327 — " A fight for the sake 

of friendship " spccimene 328 

A horde of Irish Gipsies — The town-clerk ashamed of his company.. 328 
A Gipsy quizzes his friend—" You will put me out, by speaking to me 

in that language " upeciineng 329 

Irish Gipsies in Scotland — Their number, appearance, and occupa- 
tions 329 

The origin of the idea that the Gipsies came from India 329 

Scottish Gipsy words collated with vulgar Hindostanee 330 

John Lobbs, a low caste native of Bombay, examined spec'nnens 330 

Rev. Mr. Crabb's annual Gipsy festival— The Hindostanee and Gipsy 

languages «334 

Gipsy words sent to Sir Walter Scott, collated with the Rev. Mr. 

Baird's collection 334 

Scottish (Jipsy words that bear a relation to Sanscrit 336 

A comparison between Gipsy and various oriental languages 337 

The language of the Gipsies mixed — How it has got corrupted 838 

Rev. Mr. Baird's remarks thereon — The language of the Gipsies in 

the Scottish Highlands n388 

The Sclavonic in the Gipsy language — Variations in the Gipsy of 

different countries »833 

The Gipsies supposed to originate in India — The tribe originally 

thieves and robbers . . 839 

The Nuts, or Bazcgurs, supposed to be the parent stock of the Gip- 
sies 839 

See Diwui/^ifiofi on the (rinsiea 431-433 

LINLITUGOWSllIKE GIPSIES. 

The Gipsies of this county more daring than the other bands in 

Scotland 123 



566 INDEX. 

PAOfl 

They take up their quarters near the Bridge of Linlithgow 123 

Their sagacity — The district populous— Much business passes through 

it 124 

The names of the tribe — They have no connection with native va- 
grants 124 

Their occupations— Horses, music, feasting, and dancing 124 

The Gipsies very civil and honest with their neighbours, but plunder 

others at a distance 124 

A Gipsy unintentionally attempts to rob his own clergyman nl24 

The tribe form strong attachments to individuals of the community. 125 

Terrific fighting among themselves, on dividing their spoil 125 

Their children attend school — None dare taunt them, or their pa- 
rents, though thieves and robbers 125 

The magistrates of Linlithgow dare not interfere with the tribe 126 

They play with them at golf, and admit them to social meetings and 

dinner parties 126 

The authorities being passive, the Gipsies plunder at pleasure 127 

The chief of the tribe taken off', when attempting highway robbery. . 127 
His funeral attended by the magistrates, and other people of respect- 
ability r ]28 

The Gipsy mode of burying the dead 128 

The deceased chieftain succeeded by his son, who exceeds him in au- 
dacity and daring 129 

The band very numerous, having lieutenants, like a military com- 
pany 129 

Appearance, acquirements, and habits of the new chieftain, and his 

brother in-law 129 

By means of trained horses, the chief plays many tricks 129 

Description of his wife, and for what she was greatly respected.. 130, 137 
The Gipsies protect their friends, but vindictively torment their 

enemies 130 

Peculiarities of the Gipsies in the matter of robbing people— Gipsy 

passports 131 

The chief and his brother-in-law condemned to be hung 133 

Threatened rescue by the tribe — Precautions taken, 133 — Execution 

of the criminals 135 

.The chief's wife before, and after, the execution — Touching and terri- 
ble scenes 135, 136 

Attempted resuscitation of the bodies — They are interred in the 

church-yard of Linlithgow 137 

They are torn up by the populace, and buried in a moor, in the neigh- 
bourhood 137 

The chief divorced from his first wife, over a horse, sacrificed for the 

occasion 137 

Her character, and that of her successor, who continues her old prac- 
tices 137 

She returns to a friend a purse, stolen by the tribe in a fair 138 

Her two nephews pursued, tried, and executed for robbing the mail . 139 

Sizes of these two Gipsies— Mixed Gipsies a strong race of men 7?139 

LOCHGELLIE once the headquarters of Gipsies, 140 — Description of the 

neighbourhood, 141 — Scenes among the Lochgellie Gipsies. 159, 167, 295 

LOCHMABEN is said, by James Hogg, to be stocked with Gipsies n381 

MACAULAY, LOUD 

John Bunyan's tribe and nationality, 507, 516 — The Pilgrim's Prog- 
ress 514 

McLAURIN'S CRLMINAL TRIALS. 

He speaks of John Faw, " Earl of Little Egypt," as " this peer" . . . 107 
On the trial of William Baillie, in 1714, 204 — On the mercy shown to 

James Baillie 218 

MARRIAGE CEREMONIES OF THE GIF'SIES. 

The Gipsies all marry young— Few or no illegitimate children among 
them 257 



INDEX. 667 



PAQV 

A Gipsy stabs another, for seducing his sister, who is afterwards 

married to him 257 

The virtue of young SpanisTi Gipsy females — They are dressed in a 

kind of drapery »257 

Gipsy courtships— The younger sister not married before the elder . . 258 
The Gipsy multiplication table — The Gipsies obey one of the divine 

laws at least 7j258 

A parallel between the ancient Hindoos and the Jews during the 

time of Laban 259 

The nuptial ceremony of the Gipsies of great antiquity, and one the 

longest to be observed 259 

Marriage customs generally — Those of the Gipsies should be made 

public 260 

Sir Walter Scott not squeamish about delicacies, when knowledge is 

to be acquired 260 

The ideas of prudes and snobs on this chapter n260 

The Scottish Gipsy marriage ceremony described 260-263 

The Spanish Gipsy marriage ceremony, according to Bright, w261 — 

and Borrow n262 

Singular marriage customs among other tribes — "Hand-fasting" 

among Scottish Highland chiefs 7?262 

Recent instances of Scottish Gipsy marriages, 263 — A Gipsy on the 

Presbyterian form of marriage »264 

Description of Feter Robertson, a famous celebrator of Gipsy mar- 
riages 264 

In his will, he gives away, during his life, more than a county, but 
reserves to himself a " pendicle, and the town of Dunfermline. . . . 265 

Remarks on rams and rams' horns »265 

The Gipsy priest given to good ale, and chastising his tribe without 

mercy ' 266 

MILLER, HUGH, on the slavery of Scotch colliers and salters nl21 

MINSTRELSY OF THE SCOTTISH BORDER. 

The Scott clan agree to give up all friendship with common thieves, &c. 113 
Song of " Johnny Faa, the Gipsy Laddie,"* 239— Of " Hughie the 

Graeme " 807 

MIRACLES. 

There is no miracle in the existence of the Jews since the dispersion 458, 

459, 494, 533 

They are to be found in the Old and New Testaments only 494 

They are things that are contrary to natural laws 533 

It would have been a miracle had the Jews been lost among mankind 533 

MIXTURE OF GIPSY BLOOD. . 9, »80, «92, 341, 342, 374, 377-379, 399, 468 

MIXED GIPSIES, PECULIARITIES OF 10, a195, 372, 373, 375, 377, 381-385, 

395, 397, 403, 412, 414, 427, 451, 455, 460-462, 470, 472, 498, 499, 508, J/509, 532 

391, 
MOSES. 

His difhculties in inducing the Jews to undertake the Exodus 16 

The ditl'erence between his rank and that of Jesus Christ 16, 486 

The character of Moses, 18— His troubles after leaving Egypt 20 

How heapparentlygotridof the "mixed multitude" that followed him 20 
OCCUPATIONS OF THE GIPSIES GENERALLY 121, 182, 215, 225, 226, 

228, 234, 246, 347, 353, 4ul, 467 
OFFOR, GEORGE, (Editor of Bunyan's works). 

He avoids the Gipsies— His advice to the editor— He says Mr. Hoy- 
land was led captive by a Gipsy girl f "SJ'O 

What he saya about John Bunyan ^^^ 

OWEN, JOHN, 'how he respected and appreciated John Bunyan 521 

PARK, MUNGO : Marriage customs among the natives of Africa »260 

* The song of " Johnny Faa, the Gipsy Laddlo," appears In the Wavcrley anecdotea 
It might have been iacluded in the Minstrelsy of the ticottish Border. 



668 INDEX, 

PASSES. 

The system of passes among the Gipsies .^ 218 

The use of passes granted to the friends* of the Gipsies among the 

community 130, 131, 158, 159, 199 

PENNECUIK, DR. ALEXANDER 

He alludes to the Gipsies in his poems and history of Tweed-dale . . . 185 

He gives a description of a Gipsy battle, at Romatino 188 

He erects a dove-cot on the spot, to commemorate the battle 189 

PHILOLOGISTS AND THE GIPSY LANGUAGE. . 25, 56, 60, 291, 337, 338 
PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, THE 

What Lord Macaulay says of it, 514 — "What Bunyan himself wrote 

of it 517 

PONS ASINORUM, THE, OF THE GIPSY QUESTION n383 

POPULATION OF THE GIPSIES 61, 77, 93, 297, 316, 367, 416, 493 

PRESENT CONDITION AND NUMBER OF THE GIPSIES IN SCOTLAND. 
Every author represents the Gipsies as all remarkably dark in their 

appearance 341 

The Scottish Gipsies of all colours— Fair-haired Gipsies in Finland 

and Arabia ', 341 

Children stolen and incorporated with the tribe — How its appearance 

has been changed 342 

Peculiarity of mixing *' the blood " with native, in England n342 

Gipsies formerly employed in Scotland as constables, peace-officers, 

and '' country-keepers " 343 

The peculiarities of the tribe in such capacities — They make matters 

a great deal worse 344 

Impressments during the American and French wars greatly break 

up the Gipsy bands 344 

The tribe desert the ranks on landing in America n345 

The Gipsies prefer self-mutilation tctnmpressment 345 

Sir Walter Scott meets a Prussian Gipsy soldier, a sentinel in Paris. »346 
The Gipsies accept the bounty and desert — Burns' "Jolly Beggars:" 

" My bonny Jass, I work in brass." n34S 

The Gipsies are now crockery-dealers, horse-dealers, and innkeep- 
ers; eoopers, shoemakers, plumbers, and masons; tinsmiths, braz- 
iers, cutlers, bell-hangers, umbrella-menders, and chinmey-sweeps, 
347— constables in large and small towns, female servants, lady's 
maids and housekeepers; ginger-bread dealers, crockery, japan, 

and white-iron hawkers, &c 348 

English Gipsy constables — A Scottish clergyman married to a Gipsy. ;i348 

A travelling Gipsy jeweller, disguised as a sailor, offers for sale "a 

valuable gold watch, that cost him not less than ten francs." — " Do 

not attempt to cheat us in this manner" — The "sailor" makes his 

exit dancing, and twirling his bludgeon, in the manner of his tribe 348 

Thimble-riggers, tinkers, dealers in horn spoons — " Did you ever 

make horn spoons ?" 850 

Popular ideas of Gipsies, and their numbers— Sir Walter trcott's 

opinion 350 

•' Tinklers and vagabonds," since the peace of 1815 850 

The Gipsies at St. Boswell's, 352 — An Asiatic camp to be seen after 

the fair 8M^ 

Description of the tinkering Gipsies, at present in Scotland 858 

The hardy constitution of the Gipsy race in resisting the elements. . f»854 
Itinerant Gipsies — difficulty in pleasing them with not rolls — Gipsy 

beggars hi towns 356 

Travelling singing Gipsy impostors, 355 — Gipsy mock country 

labourers 35f 

Irish Gipsies in Scotland — A Gipsy woman gives birth to a child in 

the open fields 35 

Irish Gipsies in Eng and — "they are disliked by their English and 
Scottish brethren nS 



INDEX. 609 

PAoa 

Irish Gipsy mechanics in Edinburgh, England, and the United States 358 

Infanticide among the Gipsies — The tribe physically, n358 — Female 
Gipsy recklessness n359 

The Gipsies charged with cowardice — The Scottish Gipsies make ex- 
cellent soldiers 359 

The Gipsies employed by European governments, as soldiers, n359, 
and spies ' »360 

An interesting meeting between a French and Spanish Gipsy, in the 
heat of a battle n360 

Supposed danger from Gipsies in time of war equally applicable to 
Jews and Freemasons »360 

Scottish Gipsies distinguished for gratitude, in return for civility and 
kindness 360 

♦' Terrible," a Gipsy chief, offers to sell his all, to get a farmer out of 
prison 861 

Terrible's opinion of "writers" and lairds, but especially of the 
writers 362 

The feelings of the Gipsies in regard to the prejudice that exists 
against them »362 

Terrible's character — His mother a witch — He believed she could have 
set the farmer free 363 

The character of Gipsy chiefs generally— Education among the Scot- 
tish Gipsies 364 

How a Gipsy child became "spoiled," se^*— Education among the 
Spanish Gipsies, w— Female Gipsies »365 

Neglect of females among the Jews — A Jew's morning prayer »365 

Religion among the Scottish Gipsies, 365 — Their general political sen- 
timents ' 366 

Grellmann on the religion of the Gipsies— Mr. Borrow preaches to 
them in Spain «366 

The number of the Gipsies in Scotland — Gipsies in all the towns, and 
many of the villages 367 

Few Gipsies now hanged — Their present punishment— They cannot 
fail to increase n367 

The civilization and improvement of the Gipsies — A Hungarian 
nobleman's opinion 867 

The restless nature of the Gipsies — How it is manifested ii363 

The language of the Gipsies should be published, and the tribe en- 
couraged to speak it openly 369 

The plan of the Rev. Mr. Crabb, «368, and the Rev. Mr. Baird for the 
civilization of the Gipsies »369 

The dilliculty in distinguishing some of the tribe from common 
natives »869 

The Gipsies marry among themselves, like the Jews, and "stick to 

each other." 869 

PRINCIPAL GIPSY FAMILIES IN SCOTLAND. 

Faw 101, »IU3, 106, 107, 108, nll3, 118, 121, 188, 236, 250, 252, 255, 406 

Baillie.. .101, nl03, 118, liy, 120, 121, 185, 186, 188, 196, 1<j7, 202-208,212, 

213, 215, 2iy, 236,411 

PRITCH ARD on the Hungarian race, past and present 413 

PROPHECIES. 

•' Scattering of the Egyptians," Ezek. xxix. 12-14, and xxx. 10, 28 
and 26 40 

♦* A people that arc to provoke and anger the Jews," Deut. xxxii. 21, 

and Rom. x. 19 »49l,588 

PYRENEES, The Gipsies of the, resemble the inferior class of Scottish 

Gipsies 86 

QUAKERS. 

Gipsy-Quakers, or Quaker-Gipsies »380 

The result of their society being dissolved 443 

The nature of the perpetuation of their existence 494 



570 INDEX. 

PAGH 

QUEENSFERRY, NORTH 

Stylish habits of Gipsy plunderers at the inn at 171 

Fashionable cavalcade of female Gipsies departing from 173 

The boatmen and their friends — " the lads that take the purses" 173 

Gipsy scenes at 288, 2i^4: 

QUEENSFERRY, SOUTH 

Adventure of a Gipsy with an ox at 148 

Gipsy scenes at 356 

RELIGION AMONG THE GIPSIES 52, 73, niA, 87, »89, 161, 183, 226, 248, 

365, w366, 475, 477, 478, 502 
ROME, THE CHURCH OF. 

The seventy years schism — Three Popes anathematizing each other. . 32 
The Gipsies tolerated in the dominions of the Church, for the sake of 

gain 75 

The Gipsies despised and tolerated by the Church, in Spain 395 

The attempted conversion of the Jews to the superstitions and impos- 
tures of Rome 502 

ST. BOSWELL'S, The author's visits to the fairs at— Gipsy scenes, 93, 309, 352 

ST. JAMES on the gratitude of wild animals 435 

ST. PAUL before the Jewish Council — Gamaliel's advice on the persecu- 
tion of Christians ; »494 

"SCOTSMAN" NEWSPAPER ; Lament on the death of Will Faa, king of 

the Scottish Gipsies, in October, 1847 255 

SCOTT, SIR WALTER. 

His judicious advice to the author regarding this work 5, 59, 60, 67, 291 

The Gipsy language.a " great mystery," 24, 58 — His intended publi- 
cation on the Gipsies 25 

He urges an enquiry into the subject of the Gipsies 25, 59 

The original of Meg Merrilies, in Guy Mannering 44, 48, 242 

An article on the Buckhaven fishermen — The zeal of an antiquary n.57 

His three letters to the author, 58-61 — His opinion of the Gipsy lan- 
guage 58, 60 

In a note to Quentin Durward, he urges a publication of the present 

work 66 

His translated article, in Blackwood's Magazine, on the Gipsies in 

Germany 79 

His article in Blackwood's Magazine — An English Gipsy family arriv- 
ing in Scotland .' * 96 

Billy Marshall the Gallowayshire Gipsy chief »148 

In a letter to Captain Adam Ferguson, he alludes to the trial of Ken- 
nedy, a tinker nl92 

He notices a scuffle and a murder among Gipsies 216 

His description of a Gipsy feast 232 

Adventure of a relative among Gipsies — The original of Meg Mer- 
rilies 242 

His grandfather feasted by the Gipsies on Charterhouse moor 244 

He discovers a Gipsy, when in the company of Baillie Smith, of Kelso 250 
He is not squeamish about delicacies when knowledge is to be ac- 
quired 59, 260 

His idea of the Scottish Gipsy population greatly erroneous, 72-301, 350, »417 
He causes his eldest daughter to sing " Hughie the Graeme" to the 

author , w308 

He is interested in the Gipsies, but afraid they might injure his plan- 
tations »309 

A list of Gipsy words sent to him for inspection 59, 334 

He meets a Prussian Gipsy soldier, in Paris »346 

Feudal robbers— Extract from his life by Lockhart nAlO 

Highland robbers— Fitz James and Roderick Dhu, in the "Lady of 

the Lake," nA^ 1 

On the disappearance of the Scottish Gipsies «417 

What he says about John Buuyan 515 



ijwEx. m 

SCOTTISH GIPSIES, DOWN TO THE YEAR 1715. 

Gipsies supposed to be in Scotland before the year 14(i0 98 

McLellan of Bombie kills a Gipsy chief, and recovers the Baroi v of 

Bombie '.., 98 

^be Gipsies enter Scotland, from Spain, by way of Ireland '^^^i^ 

Armorial bearings — Act of James II. against vagabonds 9y 

Letter of James IV., in 1506, to the king of Denmark, in favoiir of 

Anthonius Gawino, Earl of Little Egypt. 99 

Capacity of the early Gipsies in passing for pilgrims and men of con- 
sequence n99 

Treaty between James V. and John Faw, " Lord and Earl of Little 

Egypt," in 1540 101 

Policy of the Gipsies— The act of James V. the starting point in the 

^■history of the Scoto-Egyptians 7»103 

TThe Gipsies insult James V., and, for that reason, are ordered to 

>v leave Scotland, in 1541 104 

Faw's diplomacy on the occasion nlOQ 

Death of James V. — The Gipsies recover their position with his suc- 
cessors 107 

Remission of Gipsies for the slaughter of Niuian Small 107 

Scottish Gipsy captains, and Spanish Gipsy counts Til 07 

The Gipsies, at that time, men of importance, and allowed to live 

under their own laws 107 

The Countess of Casailis elopes with John Faa 108 

The Gipsies tolerated from 1506 till 1579, when James VI. assumes the 

government 109 

Act of James VI. against vagabonds in general, and the Gipsies in 

particular .' 109 

Mode prescribed for punishing the Gipsies and the other vagabonds 

mentioned 110 

Statute confirmed in 1592, when the Gipsies are again referred to 110 

Act of 1597 against "strong beggars, vagabonds, and Egyptians". . . 110 

Coal and salt masters might apprehend and put such to labour nlU 

Origin of the slavery in Scotland which was abolished during last 

century nWl 

Gipsies now colliers in the Lothians «111 

Fletcher of Saltoun's estimate of the beggars and vagabonds in Scot- 
land, in 1680 nlll 

Act of 1600 declares previous ones ineffectual Ill 

Acts of 1603 and 1609 banish the Gipsies forever, on pain of death.. . 112 
Act of 1617 directs the authorities how to proceed against the Gipsies 113 

Condition of the Scottish people generally, at this time 113 

Acts against " famous and unspotted gentlemen" for protecting the 

Gipsies 114 

Similar acts passed against the nobility and commonalty in Spain. . . 7j1J4 

Gipsy policy and cunning — Modifications of the term Gitano »115 

Great outward change in the Gipsies at that time— Surnames and gen- 

erJil policy lift 

JInglish and German Gipsy and Jewish surnames nll7 

[The Gipsies claim bastard kindred with the Scottish aristocracy and 

^>*-| gentry 117 

r They have a profound regard for aristocracy nll7 

vjjrials and executions of the Gipsies in Scotland — Baron Hume's 

account 117 

The Faas and Baillies the principal Gipsy tribes in Scotland 121 

The influence of the Baillies, of Lamington, of great service to the 

Scottish Gipsies 121 

Proscription of Gipsies, and enslavement of colliers and sailers, in 

Scotland wl2\ 

_SHEPHEllD KINGS, Gipsies probably the descendants of the 20, 415) 

SHERIFFS OF SCOTLAND, their reports on the Gipsies iu Scotland.. . .Viol 



672 INDEX, 



} 



SKB»W, WM. P. 

r* Hand-fasting," previous to marriage, practised among Scottirfi 

\ Highland chiefs n2 

The plundering principles and habits of Scottish Highlanders 410 

SLANG, in connexion with the Gipsy language, 58, n5"J, 60, 281, 302, re338, 50<5 

SLAVES, the religion of. 20, 21, 51, 49fi, »496 

SMITH, ADAM, author of the " Wealth of Nations," carried off by the 

Gipsies, when a child 45 

SMITH, BAILLIE, OF KELSO. 

His contribution to Hoyland's " Survey of the Gipsies," 245 

SMITH'S HEBREW PEOPLE. 

History of their language during the seventy vears' captivity n318 

SOLDIERS, Gipsies as .80, 182,' 208, 253, 344, 345, »i346, 359 

SOUTHEY, ROBERT. 

He says Bunyan was bred to the business of a brazier «265 

On tinkering and Bunyan's education 512 

Bunyan's family history and fame 516 

He is unreasonable in styling Bunyan a *' blackguard," 519 

SPIES, Gipsies as '. «74, 7i360 

STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SCOTLAND. 

Description of Lochgellie, Fifeshire, and the Gipsies settled there. . . 141 

Description of the Gipsies at Middleton, Mid-Lothian 341 

Allusion to the Falls, merchants, at Dunbar n406 

STEALING AMONG THE GIPSIES, 52, 63, 72, 148, «,155, 163, 164, 166-174, 

177, 197, 210, 211, 228, 315, 339, 364, 482 
SURNAMES AMONG THE GIPSIES, 99, 101, 107, 117, 121, 124, 141, 153, 219, 

252, 71358 
TACITUS on the destruction of the Druids w479— On the religion of slaves, n496 

THIMBLE-RIGGERS AND THIMBLE-RIGGING 319-325 

TIMOUR'S CRUELTIES on over-running India 38 

TITLES AMONG THE GIPSIES, 77, 78, 79, 90, 99, 101, 107, »155, 169, 187, 

190, 218, 253, n256 
TRENCK, BARON, 

In his wanderings, comes in contact with a band of German Gipsies. 86 

TWISS, RICHARD, on the religious character of the Gipsies 78 

On the virtue of Gipsy females, and honesty of Gipsy innkeepers, in 

Spain 524 

TWEED-DALE AND CLYDESDALE GIPSIES. 

Description of Tweed-dale, in the time of Queen Mary 185 

Dr. Pennecuik's works— The Gipsies never had a permanent habita- 
tion in the county 185 

The tribe attached to the district for three reasons: 1st, the Baillies 
claimed it as their own, 185 — 2d, plenty of provisions — 3d, freedom 

from the laws 186 

Alleged relation of the Gipsies to the Baillies of Lamington nl85 

Braxy— Mr. Borrow on the Gipsies poisoning and eating swine »1S6 

Fashionable appearance and mounting of the Baillie tribe— Their 

children left in huts 18G 

The Gipsies well treated by the tenantry, who accept dinners from them 187 
The Baillies specially mentioned — They give kings and queens to the 

tribe 187 

The quarrelsome disposition of the Gipsies — "A shower of horns, 

hammers, knives, files, and fiery peats," 188 

Dr. Pennecuik's account of a Gipsy battle at Romanno 188 

He erects a dove-cot on the spot, to illustrate, by contrast, the nature 

of the Gipsy 189 

The same battle noticed by Lord Fountainhall, in his MS 189 

A Gipsy battle at Hawick — Terrific wounds, but no slain 190 

Sir Walter Scott's allusion to this battle nl92 

Another and decisive battle between the hostile tribes, at Eskdale- 
moor , 193 



INDEX, 578 

PAOI 

The country people horrified at the sight of the wounded Gipsies 193 

Grellmann's description of Hungarian Gipsies tigliting nl'JS 

female Gipsies light as well as males — liecca Keith, the heroine of 

Dumblane Iit4 

The tritling occasions of Gipsies fighting, and agreeing among them- 
selves «195 

The fencibles and the clergy called out to quell and disperse the 

Gipsies «195 

Assault of the Gipsies on Pennicuik House wl95 

An insult offered to the mother of the Baillies resented, with drawn 

swords 196 

Contribution from Mr. Blackwood towards a history of the Gipsies. . . 196 
Pickpockets at Dumfries, headed by Will Baillie— How he and his 
tribe travelled to fairs— He returns a farmer his purse, l'.)7— The 
farmer, v/hen intoxicated, goes to visit him — Baillie pays a widow's 
rent, and saves her from ruin, 198— He borrows nioney, and gives 
the lender a pass of protection, 199- The pass, after scrutiny by 
two of the tribe, protects its bearer — Baillie repays his loan with 
a large interest— The " Jock Johnstone" gang of Gipsies, 200— 
Jock, in a drunken squabble, kills a country ale-wife — His jack- 
daw proves a bird of bad omen to him, and lie a bird of bad omen 

to his executioner 201 

Jock's execution, as described by Dr. Alexander Carlyle 7i201 

"William Baillie, a handsome, well-dressed, good-looking, well-bred 

man, and an excellent swordsman 202 

Like a wild Arab, he distributes the wares of a trembling packman, 
who extols, wherever he goes, "the extraordinary liberality of Cap- 
tain Baillie," 203 

Bruce on the protection given by Arabs to shipwrecked Christians. . . «t203 
In indulging his sarcastic wit, Baillie insults the judge ou the 

bench 203 

The deportment of Hungarian Gipsies during and after punishment.. «204 

Baillie's numerous crimes and sentences 2U-A 

The nature of "sorning," 7J.204— Gipsies carried arms in the olden 

times n205 

Baillie's policy in claiming kin with honourable families 205 

He is slam by one of the tribe while in the arms of his wife 206 

His murderer pursued by the tribe over the British Isles, till he is ap- 
prehended and executed 206 

Legal enquiry regarding the slaughter of Baillie, 206— The trial of his 

murderers 208 

William Baillie succeeded by Matthew Baillie— His descendants 203 

Mary Yorkston, wife of Matthew Baillie, a Gipsy queon and priestess 20» 
Her appearance and costume, on gaia days, when advanced in years.. 209 
Old Gipsy women strip people of their clothes, like the Arabs of the 

desert 209 

Mary Yorkston restores a stolen purse to a friend — Her husband first 
counts its contents — "'There is your purse, sir; you see what it is, 

when honest people meet !" 210 

A Gipsy chief chastises his wife for want of diligence or success at a 

fair 211 

Mary Yorkston and her particular friend, the good-man of Coulter- 
park 211 

She scorns alms, but demands and takes by force a " boontith," 211 

Her son, James liaillie, condemned and pardi)ned again and again... . 213 

The Baillies of Lamington's influence successful in his ease 218 

Stylish dress of the male head of the Kulhvens~The Gipsy costume 

generally 218 

Disguises of the tribe when plundering in fairs 218 

Vidocq on the disguises of the Continental Gipsies, on a similar occa- 
sion . . 10.213 



574 INDEX, 

PAOB 

A couple of mounted Gipsies taken for men almost of the first 
quality 214 

Straggling Gipsies — Their suspicious characters — A tinker and a 
tinker's wife 215 

A quarrel among three Gipsy constables, 21G— A murder, a capture, 
and a lamentation 217 

One Gipsy constable murdered, another hanged, and the third banished 218 

Great falling off in the condition of the Scottish nomadic Gipsies 218 

The internal polity of the Gipsies — Their general system of passes.. . 213 

The country divided into districts, under a king and provincial chief- 
tains — The pass of a Baillie conducts its bearer over all Scotland.. . 219 

Surnames among the Tweed-dale Gipsies — Surnames among the Eng- 
lish Gipsies, n 21 9 

Travelling Gipsies possess two and sometimes several names — Super- 
stitious ideas when travelling 219 

Present condition of the Tweed-dale Gipsies — They dispense with 
tents, but occupy kilns and outhouses 220 

The number of the tribe sometimes collected together, 220 — How they 
are sometimes treated 221 

How the Gipsies approach the farmers' premises, 222 — How they dis- 
guise their numbers 222 

Their honesty, while on the farm — The resemblance between Gipsies 
and ravens n223 

Personal habits of the tribe while in their encampment 224 

The males remain aloof, tinkering and manufacturing — The women 
vend the goods 224 

Athletic amusements of the Gipsies, 224— They despise the peasantry, 
but boast of their own tribe 225 

Their peaceable behaviour, 225 — They do not attend church, or wor- 
ship any thing whatever 226 

The musical talents of the Gipsies — Their pretensions to surgery — Dr. 
Duds 226 

How Gipsy women vend their wares, 226 — They sometimes take, by 

^^force, a " boontith," 227 

^jBabits of the Hungarian Gipsy after child-birthjj •, ^227 

Itfary Yorkston and her " boontith," 227 — Her terrible prediction 22S 

Recent instances of " sorning," or masterful begging, among the 
Scottish Gipsies w228 

Gipsy fortune-tellers, 228 — How they frequently obtain important in- 
formation 229 

Travelling Gipsies — Gipsy fiddlers at parties — Gipsy lady's maids. . . . 229 
/Fortune-telling by palmistry and the divining cup', 230 — By the corn 

J riddle and scissors 231 

I Fortune-telling in Kamtschatka and the ancient Eastern nations n230 

Fortune-telling punishable by Act of Parliament rvloO 

Anecdote of a Gipsy woman telling fortunes by the divining cup 231 

Gipsies' meals— Sir Walter Scott's description of a Gipsy feast 232 

The Gipsy mode of cooking poultry and butcher-meat 233 

The Gipsy mode of working in iron — Its antiquity — Hungarian Gipsy 

smiths, n 884 

VIDOCQ. 

On the disguises and plundering habits of the ContineDtal Gipsies 

nl69, »ai3 
WILKINSON, SIR J. GARDNER. 

Thimble-rigging among the ancient Egyptians n323 

The appearance of the Jews in the East differs from that in Earope. . 477 
WILSON, PROFESSOR. 

He strolls with the Gipsies in his vouth, 8 — Was he then looking at 
the " old thing?" '. 471 

He notices the articles of the author in Blackwood's Magazine 66 



INDEX, 575 

PAOI 

YETHOLM. 

Descripti on of its situation nl41 

The Gipsies of Yetbolni — Baillie Smith's account, 245— Mr. Black 

wood's contribution 251 

Tradition of the first settlement of the Gipsies at Yetbolm n252 

The author's visit to Yetholm 254 

The Gipsies at Yetholm knock down their asses, when they separate 

from their wives 276 

Yetholm the metropolis of Scottish Gipsydom, 426 — " I come from 

Yetholm" 448 

ZINCALI SOCIETY in the city of New York w438 



SECOND EDITION, 



SIMSON'S HISTORY OF THE GIPSIES. 

575 Pages. Crown 8vo. Price, $2.00. 



NOTICES OP THE AMERICAN PRESS. 

National Quarterly Review. — " The title of this work ^V6s 
a correct idea of its character ; the matter fully justifies it. Even in its 
original form it was the most interesting and reliable history of the 
Gipsies with which we were acquainted. But it is now much en- 
larged, and brought down to the present lime. The disquisition on the 
past, present, and future of that singular race, added by the editor, 
greatly enhances the value of the work, for it embodies the results of 
extensive research and careful investigation." " The chapter on the Gip- 
sy language should be read by all who take any interest either in com- 
parative philology or ethnology ; for it is much more curious and in- 
structive than most people would expect from the nature of the subject. 
The volume is well printed and neatly bound, and has the advantage of 
a copious alphabetical index." 

Cotigreqational Heview. (Boston.) — "The senior partner in 
the authorship of this book was a Scotchman who made it his life-long 
pleasure to go a ' Gipsy hunting,' to use his own phrase. He was a per- 
sonal friend of Sir Walter Scott His enthusiaKm was genuine, his 

diligence great, his sagacity remarkable, and his discoveries rewarding." 
" The book is undoubtedly the fulh^t and most reliable which our lan- 
guage contains on the subject." " This volume is valuable for its in- 
struction, and excee^lingly amusing anecdotically. It overruns with the 
humorous." " The subject in its present form is novel, and we freely 
add, very sensational." " Indeed, the book assures us that our country 
is full of this people, mixed up as they have become, by marriage, wif.h 
all the European stocks during the last three centuries. The amalff «ma 
tion has done much to merge them in the general current of modern 
education and civilization ; yet they retain their language wiih closest 
tenacity, as a sort of Freemason medium of intercommunion ; and 
while they never are willing to own their origin among outsiders, they 
are very proud of it among themselves." " We had regarded tlicm as 
entitled to considerable antiquity, but we now find that thi\v were none 
other than the 'mix'd multitude' which accompanied tlic Hebrew ex- 
ode (Ex. XII 38) under Moses— straggling or disaffected Egyj)tians, who 
went along to ventilate their discontent, or to improve their fortunes. 
: . . . We are not prepared to take issue with these authors on any of 
tibe points raised by them." 

Meth4KUsf Qnarterlif Keview.—" Have we Gipsies among 
Of? Tea, verily, if Mr. Sinison is to be believed, they swarm our country 
in secret legions. There is no place on the four quarters of tlie globe 
where some of them have not penetrated. Even in New Eni.rland a sly 
Gipsy girl will enter the factory as employe, will by her allurementa 
win a young . Jonathan to marry her, and in due season, the 'cute gen- 
tleman will find himself the father of a young brood of intense (Gipsies. 
The mother will have opened to her young progeny the mystery and 

(i) 



a NOTICES OF THE AMERICAN PRESS. 

the romance of its lineage, will have disclosed its birth-right connection 
with a secret brotherhood, whose profonnder Freemasonry is based on 
blood, historically extending itself into the most dim antiquity, and 
geographically spreading over most of the earth. The fascinations of 
this mystic tie are wonderful Afraid or ashamed to reveal the secret 
to the outside world, the young Gipsy is inwardly intensely proud of 
his unique nobility, and is very likely to despise his alien father, who is 
of course glad to keep the late discovered secret from the world. Hence 
dear reader, you know not but your next neighbour is a Gipsy." " The 
volume before us possesses a rare interest, both from the unique charac- 
ter of the subject, and from the absence of nearly any other source of 
full information. It is the result of observation from real life." The 
language " is spoken with varying dialects in different countries, but 
with standard purity in Hungary. It is the precious inheritance and 
proud peculiarity of the Gipsy, which he will never forget and seldom 
reveal. The varied and skillful manoeuvres of Mr. Simson to purloin or 
wheedle out a small vocabulary, with the various effects of the opera- 
tion on the minds and a«tions of the Gipsies, furnish many an amusing 
narrative in these pages," " Persecutions of the most cruel character 
have embittered and barbarized them. . . . Even now . . . they do not 
realize the kindly feeling of enlightened minds toward them, and view 
with fierce suspicion every approach designed to draw from them the se- 
crets of their history, habits, laws and language." '* The age of racial 
caste is passing away. Modern Christianity wiD refuse to tolerate the 
spirit of hostility and oppression based on feature, colour, or lineage." The 
"book is an intended first step for the improvement of the race that forma 
its subject, and every magnanimous spirit must wish that it may prove 
not the last. We heartily commend the work to our readers as not on]y 
full of fascinating details, but abounding with points of interest to the 
benevolent Christian heart." " The general spirit of the work is em 
inently enlightened, liberal, and humane." 

Evangelical Quarterly Iteview. — '"ihe Gipsies, their race 
and language have always excited a more than ordinary interest. The 
work before us, apparently the result of careful research, is a compre 
hensive history of this singular people, abounding in marvelous inci- 
dents and curious information. It is highly instructive, and there is 
appended a fuU and most careful index — so important in every work." 

National Freemason, — " We feel confident that our readers 
will relish the following concerning the Gipsies, from the British Ma- 
sonic Organ : That an article on Gipsyism is not out of place in this MAg- 
azine will be admitted by every one who knows anything of the hist^^ry, 
manners, and customs of these strange wanderers among the nati 
the earth. The Freemasons have a language, words, and signs pecuijar 
to themselves ; so have the Gipsies. A Freemason has in every co 
a friend, and in every climate a home, secured to him by the mysti^ 
fluence of that worldwide association to which he belongs ; similar 
the privileges of the Gipsy. But here, of course, the analogy ceases 
Freemasonry is an Order banded together for purposes of the hip-Hfp* 
benevolence. Gipsyism, we fear, has been a source of constant tn'.' 
and inconvenience to European nations. The interest, therefore, wim '. 
as Masons we may evince in the Gipsies arises principally, we may say 
wholly, from the fact of their being a secret society, and also from the 
fact that many of them are enrolled in our lodges. There are 



cuiiar 

ar MW ^^M 
eases 'jH 



NOTICES OP THE AMERICAN PRESS. ^j 

IprvTitH^I'jfn^/"^'!?"' *" "^"'^ multitude of mixed Gipsies, differing 
Brr.i 1 . • T^^ appearance, manners, and customs from ordinary 

Sardinia t^^ '? ^'^"^ '^^T"^^ ^^P^^"«' ^« ^^^^^^"^ ^«d jealously 
O^nlr " "" M L^^ff"'^^^ ^°d secrets, as we do the secrets of the Masonic 
l^?.^\ Simson makes masterly 6stablislimeut of the fact tiiat 

John Bunyan the world-renowned author of the ' Pilgrim's Procrress ' 
was descended from Gipsy blood." 

GiSf ^"""^^ ^''^f/^^«^«»*<—" Such a book is the History of the 
wav knowtrf^^ T f'"". ^^?> ^ ^r^^"^« ^""'^^^ acquisition of ouVof-the- 
HkJth^rwt^ 'u^'"^^ ^°' *^^ P^'^""^ ^ff'^^^ed by its possession, will 
connp,^ Pd vvti, /i! ?.• *^-''' ^ "'^'^ «^ ^'^^'«' «f st«"eS' '^"d of leffendH 
connected with the Gipsies ; a variety of theories as to their orio-in . . 

l^hr^^^^ZV^^^'''^^''''^'''''^^''^^ «^ adventures among these niodern 
J,7™^^;^'*es There is a great deal of curious information to be ob- 

" It fs llZ^t'^'Th^^r^y ^^^ °^ ^^^^^ ^i" b^ °e^ *« Americans." 
J!t^ singular that so ittle attention has been heretofore given to this 

SuUo ke?n'^,^?V' ^^ P^«b^ll>' «T°^ ^« ^^^ f^^t ^1^-t Gipsies are so 
^of ^ • . P ?^,*sider8 from a knowledge of their language that they 

oIcunt'oL^'^id^t^'"- . " ?^ ^f *^^^ ^« j"«^ *b^ b«"^ ^'^ ^l^ich tJ 
rt'^Lrg^'^fnC'tT^^ for, whatever else it lacks, it certainly is 

J^ew York Observer,—" Among the peoples of the world thfi 

Hfe^Tn^r 1 -^ ?"'' ,^ysteriou8 and romantic. Theirori^ mo^^^^^^^^^^ 
known M^wX'/l'"' ^"^^^^^^^ '^^^^^ly. ^^ther conj^Jural Than 
prodded fhiZrvf.t-'^'''"' ^^t«; ye^^s of investigation and study, 
proauced a history of this remarkable people which is unrivalled for tlie 
amount of information which it conve.vs in a manner adTpIed to excite 
elttheC°r''-rr T^^'^^^eglad that Mr. James SiiLon has not 

riiheS it wUh T^Zl /^t^^' ^^' ^r^"" '^' ^""^ *« '^' P^b^i<=' ^^-^i«^^ •^n- 
fheZ.ll It. T^ Tf ' ^"^ able introduction, and a disquisition Spon 
the past, present, and future of the Cipsy race." " Of the Gin^ies in 

lTrnZ\Zotr^''r?f'' "^"^^ ^^ '^ *^^ --^ of Borrow Sh"e 
IS a more thorough and elaborate treatise upon Gipsy life in .renernl 

la^?^'' '' sfcL'r'^'' ^^-'^^ ^"'/ ^'^ '' ^PP--d in E^gknd and Sc" ' 
of wi.no 1 • f ^"^^ ^^"''' '^'^'^s and opinions respecting a curious people 

remlXbwL5^^''''n**'^-"l'' '^^^ ^'^''^^ P^s^"^ ««« «f t^e most 
raTlived aZ^r. r '° ^^'^ ^' ^'^ ?^ *^^ ^^°^^° ^^««- though they 
nJIf" ° ^^ European nations for centuries, forming in some dis- 

SnVthemLT' ''""'""' '°.'^^ population, they have^sicceS in 
in aC^asnrTfn r' '^P''^'^ '" T'^^ relations, customs. language, and 
iS^Tth^cCfr'™^^^^^^ and excluding strangers from real knowl- 
m^e ^s known of tw ',^^\^,^«"^^Y?i!i«s and organizations. Scarcely 

S?firsf n^^fnl -^"^ ^'^ ^^'^ '^''"^^ i" -*^"«^^^ than was know when 
ous thSt nril^'^' ?r\^"°'^ .'^"^'^"^^ ^i^^i^^e^^ "«tions." " Another 
ous thmg advanced by Mr. Simson is that of the perpetuity of the 

muchthev'T^nv "?^' *^^* '' .°r? ^^^« ""t, and that Gip.i.s. however 
Tof c viirtion rpZ^^'r"^ ""-'^ *^^" '"'^^'''^ '""P"'^' '^"d »*^^M>t the ha»v 
Df thouTh aTiov^^ ^;r'''' ^'""'T^ '^''' lan^ruage. the (lipsy mode 
doM fliu in.v ^ ^ J'' ^^"^ '■'''^^ *"^ its traditions to remote genern- 
aons. iiifl work turns, In la€t, upon these two theories, and tho Inci. 



iv NOTICES OF THE AMERICAN PRESS. 

dents, facts, and citations from history with which it abounds, are all 
skillfully used in support of them " " There are some facts of interest 
in relation to the Gipsies in Scotland and America, which are brought 
out quite fully in Mr. Simson's book,"which "abounds in novel and 
interesting matter . . . and will well repay perusal." " Pertinent anec- 
dotes, illustrating the habits and craft of the Gipsies, may be picked up 
at random in any part of the book." 

New YorJc Evening JPost, — " The editor corrects some popular 
notions in regard to the habits of the Gipsies. They are not now, in 
the main, the wanderers they used to be. Through intermarriage with 
other people, and from other causes, they have adopted more stationary 
modes of life, and have assimilated to the manners of the countries in 

which they live As the editor of this volume e-ays : ' They 

carry the language, the associations, and the sympathies of their race, 
and their peculiar feelings toward the community with them ; and, as 
residents of towns, have greater facilities, from others of their race re- 
siding near them, for perpetuatim? their language, than when strolling 
over the country.' " " We have no space for such full extracts as we 
should like to give." 

JVetv York Journal of Commerce, — " We have seldom 
found a more readable book than Simson's History of the Gipsies. A large 
part of the volume is necessarily devoted to the local histories of fami- 
lies in England (Scotland), but these go to form part of one of the most 
interesting chapters of human history." " We commend the book as 
very readable,, and giving much instruction on a curious subject." 

Neiv York Tunes.—" Mr has done good service to the 

American public by reproducing here this very interesting and valuable 
volume." " The work is more interesting than a romance, and that it is 
full of facts is very easily seen by a glance at the index, which is very 
minute, and adds greatly to the value of the book." 

New York Albion. — " An extremely curious work is a History 
of the Gipsies." " The wildest scenes in ' Lavengro,' as for instance the 
fight with the Flaming Tinman, are comparatively tame beside some 
of the incidents narrated here." 

Hours at Home (now Scrlhner's MonfJili/).—"YesiTa 

ago we read, with an interest we shall never forget, Sorrow's book on 
the Gipsies of Spain. We have now a history of this mysterious race 
as it exists in the British Islands, which, though written before Bor- 

row's, has just been published. It is the result of much time and 

patient labor, and is a valuable contribution toward a complete history 
of this extraordinary people. The Gipsy race and the Gipsy language 
are subjects of much interest, socially and ethnologically." " He esti- 
mates the number of Gipsies in Great Britain at 250,000. and the whole 
number in Europe an<l America at 4,000,000." "The work is what it 
profesces to be, a veritable history — a history in which Gipsy lit 
■ been stripped of everything pertaining to fiction, so that the i- .■ 
will see depicted in tlieir true character this strange people. ..... And 

yet, these pages of sober history are crowded with facts and incidents 
stranger and more thrilling thaii the wildest imaginings of the roman- 
tic school." 

NEW YORK: JAMES MILLER. 



JUST I^UHLISIIED. 
2IO Pages. Octavo. Price, 



SI. 25. 



CONTRIBUTIONS 

TO 

Natural History. 



AND 



PAPERS ON OTHER SUBJECTS. 



B-2- vj^^nvcES sinycsonsr. 



contents. 



PAGE. 

7 

lO 

17 
23 

25 
30 



Vipers and Snakes Generally, 
White of Selborne on the Viper, 
White of Selborne on Snakes, 
Snakes Swallowing their Young", 
Snakes Swallowing their Young, 
Snakes Charming Birds, 
Mr. Frank Buckland on English 

Snakes, . . . • 31 

Mr, Gosse on the Jamaica Boa 

Swallowing her Young, . 33 

American Snakes, . . -36 

American Science Convention on 

Snakes, . . . 36 

Charles Waterton :is a Naturalist,, 39 
Romanism, .... -49 



John Stuart Mill: A Study. 

His Religion, 
His Education 
A Crisis in his 

History, 
His Wife, 
Mill and Son, 
Simson's History of the Gipsies 
Mr. Borrow on the Gipsies, 
The Scottish Churches and the 
Social Emancipation of the 
Gipsies, . . . . 

Was John Bun^an a Gipsy ? 
The Duke of Argyll on the Pres- 
ervation of the Jews. 

Inde.x, 



69 
82 

90 

97 
105 
1 1 1 
112 



150 
>57 

161 
171 



APPENDIX. 

I. John Bunyan and the Gipsies, 183 I HI. Mr. frank B ukland on the 
II. Mr. Frank Bucklnnd and Whitf Viper, • . . . .192 

of Selborne, . . .187 1\'. Tlu- i-'.ndownv.'nt of Research, 199 

NEW YORK: JAMES MILEI:R, PL" i'.i.i.sl U.K. 










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